JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMOX) - A local lawmaker is preparing to defend the 2nd Amendment in case President Joe Biden's administration clamps down on gun laws.
State Senator Bill Eigel of St. Charles County is promoting a bill in Jefferson City to preserve gun rights if the federal government adds restrictions. The bill, SB 39, was introduced by State Senator Eric Burlison and would create the "Second Amendment Preservation Act", which would nullify any new firearms restrictions from the federal government in Missouri.
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"Some laws declared invalid under this act include certain taxes, certain registration and tracking laws, certain prohibitions on the possession, ownership, use, or transfer of a specific type of firearm, and confiscation orders," the bill states, "Under this act, no public officer or state or local employee has the authority to enforce firearms laws declared invalid by the act."
"We're in a remarkable time where we're having to make statements like this," Eigel said on KMOX's Mark Reardon Show. "We're having to put laws in place at the state level to protect us from the possibility of additional federal overreach."
But a local law professor says there's a small problem with the measure: "It's blatantly unconstitutional."
Washington University in St. Louis' Greg Magarian says while states can hire and fire their law enforcement personnel as they want, it can't override federal law with laws of their own. He says a similar bill was passed in 2013, but was vetoed by then Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon.
Listen to Eigel on KMOX here:
Eigel says the U.S. Constitution supports the concept, even though federal law takes precedent over state and local laws. Eigel expects Senate Bill 39 to be challenged in court should it become law.
You can read the full bill, here.
Biden supports legislation restricting the number of firearms an individual may purchase per month to one and would require background checks for all gun sales with limited exceptions, such as gifts between family members, according to the Associated Press. Biden would also support prohibiting all online sales of firearms, ammunition, kits and gun parts.
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