A Missouri state law declaring several federal gun laws invalid is unconstitutional, giving the Department of Justice a victory. A law signed by Republican Governor Mike Parson in 2021 declared that certain federal gun laws violated the constitution’s Second Amendment, Reuters reports. A federal judge in Jefferson City, Missouri, ruled that the state’s Second Amendment Preservation Act (SAPA) violates the Supremacy Clause, which holds that federal laws take precedence over state laws. The judge sided with Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration, calling the law’s practical effects “counterintuitive to its stated purpose.”
“I am committed to defending Missourians’ fundamental rights to bear arms,” said Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who promised to appeal the case. “The legislature has the authority to expand on those foundational rights codified in the Second Amendment,” he said. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement he was “gratified” by the judge’s decision, “which will allow federal, state and local law enforcement in Missouri to work together to keep their communities safe from gun violence.”