JEFFERSON CITY — The right to keep and bear arms is one of the most important fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution because it guarantees that people have the right to protect themselves, their property and their families. During my time in the Missouri House of Representatives and Missouri Senate, I have fought to preserve the Second Amendment rights of Missourians against those who seek to take away this precious constitutional freedom. Below, I will highlight a few of the measures the Legislature may be considering this session related to firearms or the Second Amendment.

Some of you may have read or heard about House Bill 545, which would make it a class C felony to manufacture, import, possess, purchase, sell, or transfer any assault weapon or large capacity magazine. Frankly speaking, this bill is not going anywhere. It was introduced by a minority party member from St. Louis in the Missouri House of Representatives. The political makeup of the House notwithstanding, this bill shouldn’t go anywhere. House Bill 545 is a serious overstep and an outright attack on the Second Amendment rights of Missourians. Should this bill be introduced in the Senate or, by some chance, advance to the Senate from the House, I will work to defeat it.

In the upper chamber, Senate Bill 124 was introduced by a minority member of the Senate and would create the crimes of negligent storage of a firearm and failure to notify a school of firearm ownership. Let me also say, in no uncertain terms, that I am 100 percent opposed to this legislation and will work to defeat it if it reaches the full Senate for consideration. To require parents to register gun ownership with a school is a dangerous intrusion into private citizens’ lives and would do nothing to protect our children.

We are all shocked and saddened by the terrible tragedy that occurred in Connecticut last December. It was an act of immeasurable violence and evil. However, we must consider if recent proposals made both at the state and federal level would actually have prevented this tragedy or would address the underlying problems that caused the shooting. Rather than penalizing law-abiding, responsible gun owners, we should be looking at mental health issues and treatment as priorities in our fight against senseless violent acts. Our constitutional rights were secured and maintained with great sacrifice, and we should be careful to not undo the work of our Founding Fathers with an emotional reaction that does not fix the problem.

I am open to discussing the role of firearms in society. However, I do not believe limiting our Second Amendment rights is the proper place to start that conversation.