Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signed a bill that prohibits local police officers from enforcing federal gun laws.
“It is our time to protect the Second Amendment,” Parson said of the legislation. “This is exactly what this bill does, and it’s time to get this thing signed and get it into law.”
The new law requires local law enforcement agencies to uphold an individual’s Second Amendment rights, with fines up to $50,000 for a violation.
Supporters of the legislation argue it represents a “line in the sand” meant to protect the state’s residents from federal government overreach.
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“While some people may not spend a lot of time thinking about the Second Amendment, it’s critical to the preservation of our republic,” said Mike Brown, co-founder of Frontier Justice shooting range, where the legislation was signed.
But Democrats fiercely opposed the bill, calling it “dangerous and obviously unconstitutional.”
“House Bill 85 is a radical, dangerous and obviously unconstitutional attempt to declare that Missouri will refuse to follow federal gun laws,” Missouri’s House minority leader, Democrat Crystal Quade, said in a statement. “It quite literally defunds the police and gives that taxpayer money to convicted criminals. It is long past time for Republicans in Jefferson City to stop the political grandstanding, take their jobs as leaders seriously and pass real solutions to crime in our state.”
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The effort comes as President Joe Biden has made a renewed effort to pitch gun control legislation since taking office.
“Once again, I urge Congress to take immediate action and heed the call of the American people, including the vast majority of gun owners, to help end this epidemic of gun violence in America. Every life that is taken by a bullet pierces the soul of our nation. We can, and we must, do more,” Biden said last month after a San Jose, California, mass shooting resulted in nine deaths.
