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By Johnny Kampis | Missouri Watchdog
ST. LOUIS – A Missouri lawmaker wants to make a felon of any other state lawmaker who tries to take away residents’ gun rights.
LEARA: Lawmakers shouldn’t attempt to infringe on Second Amendment protections.
Rep. Mike Leara, a St. Louis Republican, filed a bill Monday that would make other legislators who file any bills that “further restricts the right of an individual to bear arms, as set forth under the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States” guilty of a Class D felony.
Missouri sentencing guidelines call for a prison term of up to four years for such a charge.
Two House Democrats, Reps. Rory Eillinger of University City and Jill Schupp of Creve Coeur, introduced a bill last week that could impose felony charges on some gun owners. Their bill would require owners of some semi-automatic rifles and high-capacity magazines to destroy them or turn them over to authorities within 90 days or risk being charged with a Class C felony.
The bill from the St. Louis-area Democrats has practically zero chance of passing through the heavily Republican Missouri General Assembly, while the Leara legislation has a similar chance due to its outrageous nature.
It’s not clear if Leara’s bill is directly in response to the Democratic bill, which would in theory make it a bill to make felons of lawmakers of bills that make felons of gun owners.
Wrap your head around that one.
Missouri Watchdog could not reach Leara for comment.
His office released a statement Tuesday morning that said he filed House Bill 633 as a “matter of principle” in defense of Second Amendment 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 said in the statement.
Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon said last week his office will focus more on the expansion of mental health services in the state, which he believes is the root of the problem with gun violence.
Contact Johnny Kampis at johnny@missouriwatchdog.org. For more Missouri Watchdog updates, visit Facebook and Twitter, or sign up for a free newsletter.
