The Justice Department sued Missouri on Wednesday over a state law that declares several federal gun laws “invalid.”
Missouri House Bill 85, signed into law by the governor last June, allows law enforcement officers to be penalized with fines for attempting to enforce five categories of federal gun laws, including laws on gun registration and confiscation. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri seeking declaratory and injunctive relief prohibiting the legislation’s enforcement, argues the law is unconstitutional.
“A state cannot simply declare federal laws invalid,” Brian Boynton, principal deputy assistant attorney general, said. “This act makes enforcement of federal firearms laws difficult and strains the important law enforcement partnerships that help keep violent criminals off the street.”
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The law, known as the Second Amendment Preservation Act, has deterred local law enforcement from investigating certain federal gun crimes and collaborating with federal law enforcement in its investigations of those crimes, the Justice Department alleged.
The Missouri law also violates the Supremacy Clause, a provision in the Constitution that says federal laws take precedence over state laws, creating confusion about enforcement of federal laws, department officials argued.
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt fired back on Wednesday, accusing the Justice Department of attacking Missourians’ Second Amendment rights.
“After their disastrous arguments in the Missouri Supreme Court last week, the Biden Department of Justice has now filed yet another partisan lawsuit that seeks to attack Missourians’ Second Amendment rights,” he said in a statement. “My Office has fought to continue the initiative, but this initiative has been suspended solely because of the Biden Administration’s actions. Time and again, the Biden Administration has put partisan politics ahead of public safety. Make no mistake, the law is on our side in this case, and I intend to beat the Biden Administration in court once again.”
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Last week, the Supreme Court of Missouri heard arguments in a separate lawsuit seeking to strike down the law. A lawyer for Jackson County, St. Louis, and St. Louis County argued the law was unconstitutional, KSDK reported. Nearly 60 law enforcement officials supported the lawsuit, according to the outlet.
Nearly 80% of violent crimes in Missouri are committed with guns, federal officials said.
