Missouri Senate
Bans All Federal Gun Control Laws in Proposed Bill
By Max Headroom
March 19, 2019
Missouri may have just made the most monumental step
towards freedom and individual liberty since the signing of the Bill of Rights.
In an upcoming vote by Missouri’s state senate, the state is expected to pass a
bill that would nullify ALL Federal gun laws and regulations, and make
enforcement of those laws by federal officers within the State of Missouri a
criminal offense. Republicans control both U.S. Senate seats and more than
two-thirds of the seats in both the Missouri House and Senate.
Like it’s predecessor, SB613, Bill SB367 and it’s companion, House Bill HB786, would prevent all state agencies
and their employees from enforcing any federal law that infringes the Second
Amendment in any way, including gun registrations, fees, fines, licenses and
bans. Originally authored in 2014, a former version of
the bill was also passed, but vetoed by then Missouri Governor Jay Nixon.
Pro-Gun Legislation with teeth
A stipulation of the newly passed bill states:
“All federal acts, laws, executive orders,
administrative orders, court orders, rules, and regulations, whether past,
present, or future, which infringe on the people’s right to keep and bear arms
as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the United States I and Section 23 of
the Missouri Constitution shall be invalid in this state, shall not be
recognized by this state, shall be specifically rejected by this state, and
shall be considered null and void and of no effect in this state.”
For added measure, SB367’s authors went into great detail
on what federal laws will be “considered null and void and of no effect.”
(a) Any tax, levy, fee, or stamp imposed on firearms, firearm
accessories, or ammunition not common to all other goods and services which
might reasonably be expected to create a chilling effect on the purchase or
ownership of those items by law-abiding citizens;
(b) Any registering or tracking of firearms, firearm
accessories, or ammunition which might reasonably be expected to create a
chilling effect on the purchase or ownership of those items by law-abiding
citizens;
(c) Any registering or tracking of the owners of
firearms, firearm accessories, or ammunition which might reasonably be expected
to create a chilling effect on the purchase or ownership of those items by
law-abiding citizens;
(d) Any act forbidding the possession, ownership, or use
or transfer of a firearm, firearm accessory, or ammunition by law-abiding
citizens; and
(e) Any act ordering the confiscation of firearms,
firearm accessories, or ammunition from law-abiding citizens
Such language is designed to guarantee that the measure
can’t be worked around or misninterpreted by legislators or law enforcement
agencies. This is an example of pro-gun legislation with teeth.
Just HiPoint it
Law Enforcement
will be losing their ill-gotten gains
The bill passed despite heavy opposition by Missouri’s
law enforcement community, which should be no surprise, as Missouri law
enforcement agencies raked in $34,462,153 in
forfeitures from 2001 to 2008, according to a report by the Institute of Justice.
That’s a lot of cash for doing Uncle Sam’s bidding, and now law enforcement
officers will have to focus on collecting revenue from actual criminals,
instead of stealing it from gun owners.
The bill’s other stiff opposition came from an unlikely
source: the NRA. Anti-gun Senator Jamilah Nasheed tried to sneak language into
SB367 that would require gun owners to report a stolen firearm to police no
more than 72 hours after the discovery of the theft, or face a $1,000 fine and
a misdemeanor charge. However, the actual text of the bill included no such
language.
Bill author Senator Eric Burlison and bill saboteur
Senator Nasheed agreed to reconsider and the stolen firearm reporting clause
was removed earlier this week, thus satisfying the source of NRA opposition.
Here’s where things get interesting. The Missouri bill
also includes criminal charges for any federal agent who violates SB367. As per
the new law, state and local (municipal & county) law enforcement officers
would be given “discretionary power” to determine if they will press criminal
charges against federal agents who break the law by enforcing the now nullified
federal gun control measures.
Suck on my freedom, Feds
But will it hold up in a federal court?
Yes. The bill’s main provision calling on the entire
state to cease enforcing federal gun control measures stands on solid legal
ground under the anti-commandeering doctrine. Court precedent
from 1842 to 2012 stipulates that the feds simply cannot require a state to
help them violate your Constitutional rights, and allows states the power to
refuse to enforce such federal laws it deems unConstitutional. Besides, the
feds simply don’t have the manpower to do it at the state level without the
assistance and partnership of state and local agencies.
Just in case that isn’t enough, Missouri’s Senate also
passed a measure supporters say will work hand-in-hand with SB367, solidifying
it by codifying the Second Amendment into Missouri’s state constitution. Senate
Joint Resolution 36 (SJR36) proposes an amendment to the Missouri state
constitution with text obligating the state government to uphold the right to
keep and bear arms. It passed the Senate today by a vote of 29-4. If
passed by the House, it will be entered on the ballot for Missouri voters’
approval this fall. The amendment would elevate the Right to Bear Arms to
“unalienable status,” thereby obligating the state, its courts and agencies to
defend it as a guaranteed right of Missouri citizens.
Can you imagine if other states follow suit? It would
spell the death of gun control in red states, at the very least, if not a step
toward political Balkanization. Blue voters would leave red states for those
states which prefer heavy-handed federal regulations, and red voters in blue
states would have less incentive to continue having their rights treated as
privileges. We’ll see if they can get it approved by Missouri’s Governor this
time.
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