Missouri’s Attorney General said he is obligated to protect Second Amendment rights in his state by telling the mayor of St. Louis that her proposed ordinance to ban certain types of firearms violates the Missouri and U.S. constitutions.
“That [ordinance] runs afoul of the Missouri Constitution, and the state is obligated to protect that right,” Attorney General Andrew Bailey told The Epoch Times. “That’s why I’m putting the marker down.”
Mr. Bailey sent a letter to Mayor Tishaura Jones on Aug. 22 over her plans to “prohibit military-grade weapons on our streets” and “prohibit insurrectionists and those convicted of hate crimes from having guns.”
“Your proposed measure would violate the constitutional right of Missourians to keep and bear arms,” Mr. Bailey wrote in the letter.
“In the coming days, in partnership with the Mayor’s Office, aldermen are ready to introduce commonsense gun safety legislation. We come together around a shared vision: a safer, stronger St. Louis, ready to stand up for our values. We know Missourians are demanding state-level action to pass measures like red-flag laws and background checks, but we are ready to try every tool available to us at the local level to protect families from gun violence,” the statement quotes Ms. Jones as saying.
Her plan calls for the prohibition of “military-grade weapons,” though the statement did not define what a “military-grade weapon” is, prevent the transfer or sale of guns to minors, take action on privately made firearms (so-called “ghost guns”), prohibit insurrectionists and those convicted of hate crimes from having guns, and prepare St. Louis for the passage of Blair’s Law.
Blair’s Law is legislation to specify the charges and penalties for reckless discharge of a firearm. The bill was written in honor of 11-year-old Blair Shanahan Lane, who was killed when he was struck in the neck by a stray bullet during Independence Day celebrations on July 4, 2011.
Bailey Skeptical of Plan
Mr. Bailey expressed skepticism over Ms. Jones’s motives for the proposed weapons ban. He said there are already tools at the local level that the mayor should try before making new tools.“Why doesn’t she go after the criminals instead of the guns? There are laws on the books now to deal with violent crime in St. Louis,” he said.
According to Mr. Bailey, cities can only regulate concealed carry of firearms under Missouri law. All other regulations are under the purview of the state, his letter reads.
“The people’s elected representatives have already spoken on this issue by preempting local authority in state statute. To implement your plan would be to violate Missouri law,” Mr. Bailey wrote.
Mr. Bailey told The Epoch Times that the Missouri Constitution requires that any proposed law to restrict the right to keep and bear arms be subject to “strict scrutiny” to ensure that any proposed gun legislation was narrowly focused to meet a public need. According to Mr. Bailey, there are already laws to meet the requirements outlined by Ms. Jones.
He also claimed that Ms. Jones’s past statements undermine her own belief in the law’s potential effectiveness.
In the past, she had written that “Chicago has strict gun laws as well, but that doesn’t deter gun violence,” said Mr. Bailey.
“The mayor herself doesn’t even think it will work.”
Mr. Bailey closed his letter by asking Ms. Jones to use the resources she already has to fight crime in her city rather than place more regulations on law-abiding gun owners.
“I encourage you to go after criminals, not guns. As the Attorney General for the State of Missouri, I will discharge my duties under the Constitution and resist any effort to infringe on the right of the people of Missouri to keep and bear arms.”
