By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
A three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled Missouri’s 2021 “Second Amendment Preservation Act” is unconstitutional under the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.
The 10-page unanimous decision was written by Chief U.S. Circuit Judge Steven Colloton, a 2003 George W. Bush appointee.
The Biden-Harris Justice Department sued Missouri in 2022 to block the SAPA, which tried to invalidate several federal gun control laws. According to Reuters, the law was signed by Republican Gov. Mike Parsons. It was designed to prevent local authorities from “voluntarily assisting in the enforcement of federal gun laws or providing investigative assistance,” the news agency said. The administration argued the statute impeded the federal government’s enforcement of federal gun laws.
It was the second time a federal court ruled against the Missouri statute. According to the Missouri Independent, in March 2023, a U.S. District Court judge also ruled the law is unconstitutional.
In his 24-page ruling, District Judge Brian C. Wimes wrote, “SAPA is unconstitutional in its entirety. SAPA’s practical effects are counterintuitive to its stated purpose. While purporting to protect citizens, SAPA exposes citizens to greater harm by interfering with the Federal Government’s ability to enforce lawfully enacted firearms regulations designed by Congress for the purpose of protecting citizens within the limits of the Constitution.”
The state appealed, and last year, the U.S. Supreme Court denied Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s request that enforcement of the SAPA be allowed while the case is on appeal, the Missouri Independent reported.
The Independent quoted Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, a Democrat, praising the court’s decision.
“Two years ago, Missouri enacted an unconstitutional law, claiming to invalidate federal gun laws,” Lucas said in a prepared statement. “I am saddened that our state expended the time and energy of many in our legal system in service of this clearly unconstitutional effort.”
Meanwhile, Attorney General Bailey said he is reviewing the ruling.
