JEFFERSON CITY — The past year and a half has seen increasingly aggressive attacks on our Constitutionally-protected Second Amendment rights by the president, his administration, and the federal government. In southwest Missouri, we have strong defenders of the Second Amendment in Congress blocking these efforts. However, states like Colorado jumped on the federal government’s bandwagon and enacted extremely restrictive gun control laws only to find they aren’t working. These laws have even prompted a lawsuit against the state and resulted in a grass roots movement to remove two state senators in Colorado who pushed the new laws.

While some states and the president are pushing extreme gun control laws that target law-abiding and responsible gun owners, Missouri is doing things differently. Already this year, the Missouri Senate has passed two bills to protect our Second Amendment rights.

The first is Senate Bill 613, also known as the Second Amendment Preservation Act. This bill specifies that any federal laws or regulations that violate the people's right to keep and bear arms as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution are invalid and will not be recognized in Missouri. This bill originally passed last year with strong support in both the Senate and House but was vetoed by the governor. Unfortunately, the Senate came up short of the two-thirds vote needed to override the veto. After veto session, we regrouped and began work on a new Second Amendment Preservation Act that became Senate Bill 613.

Some of you may have heard about an amendment that was added to Senate Bill 613 during debate that would have required a gun owner to report a stolen firearm within 72 hours. This amendment could have made criminals out of law-abiding gun owners, opened them up to lawsuits, and effectively created a gun owner registry. I opposed this amendment and advocated for removing it from the bill.  Working with my colleagues, we removed the amendment and passed a clean bill. We then passed the bill 23-10 without the amendment and sent it to the House for consideration. I strongly supported the bill on the floor and look forward to the House taking swift action on it. 

The Senate also approved Senate Joint Resolution 36 last week. This is a proposed state constitutional amendment that would guarantee the Second Amendment rights of Missourians. If approved by voters, it would guarantee that Missourians have the right to keep and bear arms and ammunition in defense of their family and that the State of Missouri is obligated to uphold these rights and under no circumstances can decline to protect against their infringement.

With a federal government working to restrict our Second Amendment rights, it was necessary for Missouri to express our strong opposition. Lawmakers have a responsibility to uphold their oath of office and protect our Constitutional rights. These federal proposals, and efforts in other states, are a dangerous intrusion into our lives and would do nothing to protect Missouri families. Instead, they target law-abiding gun owners who practice safe and responsible gun ownership. The Second Amendment Preservation Act and SJR 36 send a clear message to the federal government and the president that the state of Missouri will fight any efforts to take away our Second Amendment rights.

As always, I welcome your ideas, questions and concerns about Missouri government. You may contact me at the State Capitol as follows: (573) 751-1480, david.sater@senate.mo.gov or by writing to Senator David Sater, Missouri State Capitol, Room 433, Jefferson City, MO 65101.