JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A Cole County judge denied a request to block Missouri’s Second Amendment Preservation Act (SAPA) on Friday, one day before the law was set to go into effect.
The City of St. Louis, St. Louis County and Jackson County asked that the court deem the new gun ownership protections as unconstitutional. Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green disagreed and sided with the state.
“Breaking: Another huge win,” Attorney General Eric Schmitt tweeted after the request was denied. “A Missouri judge just ruled in our favor. This time we won defending a new Missouri law protecting our #SecondAmendment rights. St. Louis City and County, Jackson County and the Biden administration sought to strike down #SAPA.”
SAPA, signed into law by Gov. Mike Parson on June 10, aims to invalidate any federal law that is found to infringe upon Missourians’ Second Amendment rights.
Specifically, SAPA nullifies any federal regulations that would restrict the manufacture, ownership, or use of firearms, firearm accessories or ammunition. The law also invalidates any federal regulations that impose a tax on firearms, require registration or tracking of firearms or their owners, or order the confiscation of firearms.
Additionally, SAPA makes it illegal for any officer of the state, political subdivision or state employee to enforce or attempt to enforce any federal laws, orders, or rules infringing on the right to keep and bear arms. Any person or entity who knowingly acts to deprive a Missouri citizen of their Second Amendment rights is to be liable for redress of up to $50,000.
Supporters of the new law have expressed concerns over the Biden Administration’s rhetoric toward gun ownership and are expecting attempts by the administration to restrict the Second Amendment.
“The fact of the matter is, [assault weapons] should be illegal, period,” Biden said during a CNN interview in 2019. “Look, the Second Amendment doesn’t say you can’t restrict the kinds of weapons people can own.”
Biden, along with many Democrat members of Congress, have also expressed support for a government mandated buy-back program of all “assault rifles”. Several legislators have claimed that comments like those are exactly why Missouri needed laws such as SAPA.
“I think [Biden] is definitely going to go as far as he can go with an executive order to restrict Second Amendment rights and put more burdens on gun owners,” the bill sponsor, Rep. Jared Taylor, told The Heartlander.
“I think I know better what’s going on in Missouri than some out of control congressman from California or Illinois,” Taylor continued. “I know what gun policy our state wants and I think it should be left up to the states to decide. Let Missourians decide what gun policy we want in Missouri.”
The Second Amendment Preservation Act went into effect on Saturday, August 28, but many are anticipating additional legal challenges to the law in the future.
