The session is a little more than halfway over, and I am pleased to report that my colleagues and I have won significant battles by passing legislation protecting Missourian's rights. It is difficult to express how difficult it can be to pass good legislation out of the Missouri Senate. Between lobbyists and the special interests they represent, and our opposition that is willing to filibuster all night long to keep us from protecting the most vulnerable, I can assure you that every success is hard-fought and would be impossible without my conservative colleagues.

We Protected Your Second Amendment Rights

The Senate perfected my bill, Senate Bill 131, which would exempt all American-made firearms and ammunition from sales tax. This means that if this bill can make it across the finish line, guns and ammo will be cheaper for Missourians, a win for freedom in Missouri. Senate Bill 131 also provides a tax credit to gun manufacturers in Missouri to offset the excessive 11% tax levied against them by the federal government. This measure will also reduce the cost of firearms and ammunition, and protect gun manufacturers in this state, as well as the good people they employ.

We Protected Girls’ Sports

To be honest with you, I am still amazed that anyone would think it is a good idea to allow boys to compete in sports designed for biological girls, but as you all know, this is what we are facing in 2023. The idea that we would let these girls be robbed of success on the playing field is demoralizing to these young ladies who have worked so hard in their sport of choice, and to be fully honest, it is just plain wrong. I am proud to stand with my colleagues who voted overwhelmingly to protect the integrity of sports in Missouri by simply requiring girls to play sports against girls and boys to play against boys. This passage of this bill is a win for common sense.

We Protected Children from Harmful Gender Mutilation Surgeries and Chemical Castration

The most significant victory of this legislative session came when my colleagues and I voted to ban the practice of gender-transition surgeries and chemical castration of children in our state. If this bill passes the House, it will be illegal for any doctor to prescribe harmful drugs known as puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to anyone under the age of 18, as well as entirely outlaw any gender-transition surgeries. In my opinion, passage of this legislation is a huge win for children and common decency. The bill passed by the Senate is not perfect by any means, but I am confident this legislation will protect our children for years to come.

Of course, these battles are not over, and many battles are left to fight. I still plan to stop the attempted landfill construction on the border of Cass and Jackson counties. If constructed, this landfill could decimate the property values of 44,446 residential parcels of land in Cass and Jackson counties. The regular people who own these properties do not deserve to have their hard-earned money flushed down the drain by a few millionaires and lobbyists looking to pad their already bloated bank accounts. As I stated in a previous Capitol Report, we will stop the landfill. We also still hope to end COVID vaccine mandates, end Chinese ownership of Missouri land and put a total ban on red-flag gun laws in the state of Missouri. These battles will not be easy, so I earnestly desire your prayers as we press toward the finish line of the 2023 legislative session.

If you have any ideas, questions and concern, please feel free to contact me at the State Capitol: (573) 751-2108, rick.brattin@senate.mo.gov or by writing to Sen. Rick Brattin, Missouri State Capitol, Room 221, Jefferson City, MO 65101.

God bless and thank you for the opportunity to work for you in the Missouri Senate.