Two weeks after the mass shooting in Kansas City that left 22 people injured and a mother of two dead, another shooting claimed the lives of an officer and a civil process server. Since those deaths, lawmakers in the Missouri Legislature have renewed their focus on the state’s gun laws.
Oh, really?????? (My emphasis when bolded)
Firearm crimes, as reported by police in both St. Louis and Kansas City, went up from 2022 to 2023. Last year, nearly 500 people in the state died as a result of a firearm-related crime.
State Democrats proposed so-called “red flag” laws as well as raising the minimum age for firearm purchases, but both failed.
Democrat state House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, a gun owner who grew up in rural Missouri, said it’s “almost impossible” to get support for gun legislation in the Legislature.
Republicans in the state have also filed their own types of gun policy this session, several aiming to expand where guns can be carried. Baker is sponsoring a bill that would change state law to allow firearms in churches and places of worship with a concealed carry permit. Over in the state Senate, a bill sponsored by Sen. Nick Schroer would allow a person with a concealed carry permit to carry firearms on public transportation.
IMO Concealed carry permits were the first step in allowing citizens to carry concealed weapons which used to be a felony in Missouri. Since then Missouri laws have been changed to allow anyone to openly carry, even those below the legal age.
A proposal to ban minors from carrying some guns on public property without a 21-year-old present failed to advance this week, as Republican lawmakers decided not to include the proposed amendment in a broader crime bill.
Last year the legislature passed a state law banning enforcement of federal gun laws that officials believe violate the U.S. Constitution's protection of a citizen's right to bear arms.
A state law, for example, allows people of any age to openly carry weapons in many locations, even though federal law prohibits ownership of handguns by minors.
Missouri Dems blocked from speaking on gun regulation in debate over ‘protection of children’
Leaders of the Republican supermajority in the Missouri House have thus far refused to allow any debate over bills that directly address gun violence.
On Thursday, State Rep. Maggie Nurrenbern, D-Kansas City, brought up the recent deadly shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl Parade during a debate about a bill related to “the protection of children.”
“Our kids are being injured and killed by firearms,” said Nurrenbern. “As we talk about protecting children, I think it’s important to bring to the body’s attention that the number one cause of death in the state to children is by firearms.”
Midway through her remarks, she was stopped by the House Speaker and told to keep her remarks to the matter at hand.
Republican state Rep. Renee Reuter (R-Imperial) responded to Nurrenbern’s statements with a seemingly sarcastic quip.
“It’s just my opinion that video games and pornography are the real killers of our children and their issues,” Reuter said.
Similarly, Speaker Plocher ruled Reuter’s remarks out of order and told her to stay on topic as well.
Yes, the shots were fired at the super bowl, not because people who shouldn't be allowed to carry guns had a quarrel, but because they watch video games and dirty movies. /s
From link above:
Prosecutor Jean Peters-Baker stated that an argument took place at the Chiefs rally, and Mays was the first person to pull out a gun. The prosecutor stated that multiple others pulled out firearms, including Dominic Miller.
Republicans have maintained they don’t believe any regulation of guns will have a measurable impact on gun violence and deaths.
“As we said, the first day back after the parade, we are going to take every opportunity we can to have this discussion and continue to force it,” Quade said. “If that means that the speaker continues to shut us down, because he’s too scared to talk about something, you know, apparently that’s part of his pattern this year.”
Missouri has the ninth-highest rate of gun deaths in the U.S., according to the CDC.