SAPA, Missouri gun law blocking federal regulations, declared unconstitutional by judge

JEFFERSON CITY — A federal judge ruled Tuesday that a 2021 Missouri law banning enforcement of federal gun regulations was unconstitutional and declared it invalid.

Judge Brian C. Wimes wrote that the law, which supporters called the "Second Amendment Preservation Act," was "unconstitutional in its entirety" and violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which mandates that federal laws overrule state laws. The measure "exposes citizens to greater harm" by blocking federal gun laws, Wimes wrote, and is detrimental to Missouri police who have said the law prevented them from working on federal task forces related to violent crime.

"At best, this statute causes confusion among state law enforcement officials who are deputized for federal task force operations, and at worst, is unconstitutional on its face," Wimes wrote.

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The state plans to appeal the ruling, according to a statement from Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey.

"We are prepared to defend this statute to the highest court and we anticipate a better result at the Eighth Circuit (Court of Appeals)," Bailey said. "The Second Amendment is what makes the rest of the amendments possible. If the state legislature wants to expand upon the foundational rights codified in the Second Amendment, they have the authority to do that. But SAPA is also about the Tenth Amendment. It’s about federalism and individual liberty, so we will be appealing the court’s ruling."

The U.S. Department of Justice sued Missouri in an attempt to block the law last year, as did multiple local jurisdictions that filed another lawsuit in state court. Federal prosecutors argued the bill undermined the U.S. government's authority and interfered with law enforcement operations.

"The United States will work to ensure that our state and local law enforcement partners are not penalized for doing their jobs to keep our communities safe," U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said at the time.

Republican lawmakers passed the bill in 2021, and it was signed into law by Republican Gov. Mike Parson, over the objections of members and associations of law enforcement who warned it could interfere with collaborative violent crime operations. According to previously filed court documents, at least a dozen state and local police officers pulled out of a federal task force dedicated to tracking violent crime and illegal gun use after the law took effect.

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Conservative elected officials in the state celebrated its passage, arguing it established Missouri as a state with some of the most permissive gun laws in the country. Advocates, including former state senator and now U.S. Rep. Eric Burlison, have maintained that the law is constitutional.

"We fully anticipated an Obama appointee to issue a judgement against HB 85 the Second Amendment Preservation Act," Burlison wrote on social media following the ruling. "I am asking our new Attorney General ... to take this to the Supreme Court! States cannot be forced to be the enforcement of Federal Laws."

Wimes was appointed to Missouri's western district court in 2011 by former President Barack Obama; he earlier served as a state circuit judge in Jackson County after being appointed by former Gov. Matt Blunt, a Republican.

Galen Bacharier covers Missouri politics & government for the News-Leader. Contact him at gbacharier@news-leader.com or on Twitter @galenbacharier.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Judge rules MO gun law blocking federal statutes is unconstitutional