Missouri 2nd Amendment Preservation Act Update

by Ron Calzone, Missouri First

I SHOULD be reporting to you the final passage of the Second Amendment Preservation Act. I SHOULD be telling you that both the House and Senate have done their part and that the bill is on the Governor’s desk, beginning the 15 day window for him to either veto or sign.

But I CAN’T report that good news because it hasn’t happened, even though it COULD have.

Nine precious days have passed since the Senate General Laws Committee held the final public hearing and recommended that HB 1439 “do pass”. It took until April 23rd for the Pro Tem to place the bill on the calendar for debate before the full Senate.

Recall that this is the House version of the bill, so although it has been through the entire process in the House, it had to start over in the Senate. It needs one more approval vote in the Senate and then another vote in the House, since the bill has been changed since the House last voted on it.

The Senate vote could have – should have – happened today. The Senate even quit early last week.

I’m not even sure WHY the bill wasn’t taken up, but I’m sure the latest proposal by Senator Brad Lager to add new language didn’t help. The additions necessitated yet another re-drafting just about the time it should have been going to the floor for that final vote.

If there’s any hope of overriding a gubernatorial veto by the end of the legislative session, rather than having to wait for the September veto override session, the Second Amendment Preservation Act must be passed and on the Governor’s desk by the drop-dead date of May 1st. The last day of session is May 16th.

What can you do at this point?

Call YOUR OWN Senator and Representative and tell them how important it is to you to see the Second Amendment Preservation Act passed before May 1st. Ask them to tell House and Senate leadership that the folks back home want the bill across the finish line!