Supreme Court reverses, remands Green's ruling on 'Second Amendment Preservation Act'

NEW BLOOMFIELD — The Missouri Supreme Court this week reversed a decision by 19th Circuit Court Judge Dan Green, who refused to stop enforcement of Missouri's "Second Amendment Preservation Act," which punishes Missouri law enforcement agencies for enforcing federal gun laws.

The law says when "the federal government assumes powers that the people did not grant it in the constitution of the United States, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no force." It punishes law enforcement agencies, who, for instance, participate in task forces that include federal law enforcement officers. It has the effect of invalidating federal laws that restrict the manufacture of guns or ammunition and laws that limit the ability to own or carry firearms, and is arguably the most restrictive gun law in America.

The City of St. Louis, St. Louis County, and Jackson County sued the state and Attorney General Eric Schmitt seeking to have enforcement of the law stopped. With backing from the United States and the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, the local governments argued that the law violates the U.S. Constitution's Supremacy Clause, which essentially says that federal law takes precedence over state law. The Justice Department said the law has already caused several Missouri police departments to stop sharing evidence with federal agencies, and at least a dozen Missouri police officers have dropped out of federal task forces. It said the law "curtails law enforcement officers' ability to investigate, apprehend, and prosecute criminals."