With one swipe of his pen, Missouri Governor Mike Parson (R) made his state a sanctuary from federal gun restrictions. No longer will Missouri police be allowed to enforce — or aid the feds in enforcing — federal gun rules.
But the move is not being taken well at President Biden’s DOJ, which made its anger known with a letter to Parson, telling him that a state can not stop the enforcement of federal laws.
Much like certain states have said they will not go along with federal immigration laws, Missouri has said it will guard its citizens from federal overreach in gun rights.
The Second Amendment Preservation Act stops police from carrying out or helping federal officials in enforcing federal gun rules. It also allows any citizen who thinks their gun rights were violated by an officer to sue the police dept. for $50,000.
How did Biden’s DOJ respond?
In a letter sent this week, Justice Dept. officials told Missouri’s elected officials that the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause overrules Missouri’s law.
Acting Assistant A.G. Brian Boynton said in the message that the new law “threatens to harm the working partnership between federal and local officials., the AP has reported.
“The public safety of the citizens of the U.S. and the people of Missouri is our top concern., Boynton wrote.
According to the dept., Missouri does not have the authority to protect Missourians from federal law or to stop law enforcement from enforcing federal gun restrictions.
The Dept. of Justice letter did not bother to mention that multiple states have declared themselves to be immigration sanctuary cities and are currently stopping law enforcement from carrying out federal laws.
Conservative reporter Ed Morrissey stressed that both the DOJ and the AP were apparently not capable of grasping the point Governor Parson was making with the law.
Further, Morrissey noted, the DOJ is “very arbitrary about when they decide to get their panties in a twist” over the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.
Author: Steven Sinclaire