Mo. House Bill Makes Proposing Gun Control Illegal
February 19, 2013 1:30 PM
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - A Missouri lawmaker is proposing to send colleagues to prison for introducing gun control legislation — a plan that even its sponsor acknowledges has no chance of passage but nonetheless highlights the increasingly strident tone of gun measures in Missouri’s generally pro-gun Legislature.
Rep. Mike Leara said Tuesday that he considers his bill a statement of principle. It would make lawmakers guilty of a felony punishable by up to four years in prison if they introduce legislation restricting gun rights.
“I have no illusions about the bill making it through the legislative process, but I want it to be clear that the Missouri House will stand in defense of the people’s constitutional right to keep and bear arms,” Leara, a Republican from suburban St. Louis, said in a written statement. He declined further comment.
Since last year’s deadly mass shootings in Colorado and Connecticut, state and federal lawmakers have grappled with gun legislation. President Barack Obama has proposed an assault weapons ban, background checks and restrictions on high-capacity ammunition magazines. But Missouri’s Republican-led Legislature has taken a different approach — more guns, not less.
State Rep. Stacey Newman, D-St. Louis, called the measure “unconstitutional” and said she would go directly to prison if the bill passes. Newman is the sponsor of a measure that would require guns to be sold by a licensed dealer and force that dealer to conduct a background check.
Even one of Leara’s fellow Republicans said he probably wouldn’t support the bill.
Replies
I live in Texas County, Missouri, and I want to applaud our Sheriff James Sigman for taking a stand to uphold his
Oath to protect the Constitution of the United States and protect the rights to the Citizens of Texas County Missouri.
When I read the letter that he wrote Vice President Biden, I realized he was doing what other elected officials fail to do,
and that is, live up to their Oath. What a great country we would have if all elected officialds lived up to their oaths.
There would not be a need to for such legislation if our legislators read the Constitution and Bill of Rights. I wonder
how many elected officials even read the Constitution. When the president says if Congress won't act "I will ", He wants to be a "King" or a "Dictator"