A Missouri bill that would nullify every federal gun control measure on the books, “whether past, present or future,” passed out of a Senate committee Tuesday.

SB613 states, in part:

All federal acts, laws, executive orders, administrative orders, court orders, rules, and regulations, whether past, present, or future, which infringe on the people’s right to keep and bear arms as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the United States I, Section 23 of the Missouri Constitution shall be invalid in this state, shall not be recognized by this state, shall be specifically rejected by this state, and shall be considered null and void and of no effect in this state.

The legislation bans all state employees from enforcing any federal acts which run counter to the proposed law.

The Senate General Laws Committee voted “do-pass” 5-1. The legislation now moves on to the full Senate for consideration.

Missouri First’s Ron Calzone said nobody brought up the “supremacy clause” during the hearing, noting, “At least in committee, it appears we have won that argument.”

SB613 follows James Madison’s blueprint to deal with federal overreach. By ordering a complete stand-down on all federal gun control measures, enforcement falls back to the federal government. This is exactly what James Madison advised states to do in Federalist #46. He called it “a refusal to cooperate with officers of the Union.” Earlier this year, on the Fox Business Channel, Fox News senior judicial analyst Judge Napolitano suggested that a single state taking such an action would make federal gun laws “nearly impossible to enforce.”

In what many legal experts consider a controversial move, the Missouri bill also includes criminal charges for any federal agent who violates the state law. State and local law enforcement are given “discretionary power” in the bill to determine whether or not such charges will actually be made. Inside sources say that this was done to alleviate concerns from Missouri Law Enforcement organizations who actively lobbied against the effort in 2013, citing a requirement to arrest “federal law enforcement partners in the field” as a primarily concern.

While certainly constitutionally valid within the original understanding of the Constitution, “legal experts” and federal courts won’t likely support this provision. Even so, every bill in Missouri is severable. That means if a court finds part of it unconstitutional, the rest remains. The main provision calling on the entire state to stop enforcing federal gun control measures is on strong legal ground with court precedent going from 1842 to 2012. States simply are not required to help the feds violate your rights. And the feds don’t have the manpower to do it themselves.”

A similar bill passed both houses of the Missouri legislature last year, but failed to override Gov. Jay Nixon’s veto by a single vote.

ACTION ITEMS

1.  Missouri – take action in support of SB613.  HERE

2.  All Other states – visit our 2nd Amendment Preservation legislative tracking and action center, HERE

Mike Maharrey

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