JEFFERSON CITY,
Mo. (AP) -- A Missouri lawmaker is proposing to send colleagues to
prison for introducing gun control legislation - a plan that even its
sponsor acknowledges has no chance of passage but nonetheless highlights
the increasingly strident tone of gun measures in Missouri's generally
pro-gun Legislature.
Rep. Mike Leara said
Tuesday that he considers his bill a statement of principle. It would
make lawmakers guilty of a felony punishable by up to four years in
prison if they introduce legislation restricting gun 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, a Republican from suburban St. Louis, said in a written
statement. He declined further comment.
Since
last year's deadly mass shootings in Colorado and Connecticut, state and
federal lawmakers have grappled with gun legislation. President Barack
Obama has proposed an assault weapons ban, background checks and
restrictions on high-capacity ammunition magazines. But Missouri's
Republican-led Legislature has taken a different approach - more guns,
not less.
State Rep. Stacey Newman, D-St.
Louis, called Leara's measure "unconstitutional" and said she would go
directly to prison if the bill passes. Newman is the sponsor of a
measure that would require guns to be sold by a licensed dealer and
force that dealer to conduct a background check.
Even one of Leara's fellow Republicans said he probably wouldn't support the bill.
"Everybody
should have a right to introduce bills, even bad ones," said state Rep.
Kevin Engler, of Farmington, a former state senator who has sponsored
National Rifle Association-supported legislation in previous years.
Leara's
measure comes less than a week after St. Louis-area House Democrats
introduced legislation containing an assault weapons ban. That bill
would require owners of semi-automatic weapons to surrender, destroy or
send their guns to another state within 90 days of the measure's
passage. Sponsoring state Rep. Rory Ellinger said he knows Missouri is a
very conservative state, but he still wants a dialogue on gun safety.
Given
the two-thirds Republican majority in the Legislature, the assault
weapons ban probably won't even get a committee hearing. But that hasn't
stopped Republicans from attacking the bill with fervor. Rep. Eric
Burlison, R-Springfield, posted a YouTube video of a physical copy of
the bill being shot with a handgun.
One lawmaker has questioned the wisdom of proposing legislation to the ideological extreme of both political parties.
"(Leara's
bill) has as much chance of passing as (the assault weapons ban).
Highlights the problem with proposing bills to get attention," tweeted
Sen. Ryan Silvey, R-Kansas City.
While Leara's
and Ellinger's bill are likely dead on arrival, a state House committee
moved forward Tuesday on two proposals that would curb federal gun
regulation. One proposal is sponsored by Rep. Casey Guernsey, R-Bethany,
who said he has decided "to take swift and strong actions to counteract
the federal government." Guernsey wants to criminalize the enforcement
of any federal gun control laws enacted after Jan. 1, 2013.
The
second measure would prevent federal regulation of guns that are
manufactured in Missouri and remain inside the state's borders. The
committee did not vote on either bill.
Even measures to address gun violence in schools have drawn out the ideological divides in the Legislature.
On
Tuesday, Missouri's Senate gave first-round approval to a proposal that
would give school districts the option to teach the National Rifle
Association's gun-safety program to elementary school students and to
allow teachers and other school personnel go through training on how to
respond to armed intruders. The bill sponsored by Sen. Don Brown,
R-Rolla, originally mandated schools implement both programs, but
opposition from Democratic senators caused him to make the programs
optional.
Brown's original bill was opposed by
Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, D-St. Louis, who said it would do little to
address the problem of gun violence by urban gang members whose parents
don't supervise them. She said trying to train teachers to respond to
"gang bangers" is a "pretty dangerous thing," adding that "a lot of our
teachers are kind of petite."
A Senate
committee on Wednesday also considered a state constitutional amendment
to broaden the right-to bear-arms by specifying that it is
"inalienable." The measure sponsored by Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia,
would also require the state to oppose any "infringement" on that right.
--
Leara's bill is HB633
Assault weapon's ban bill is HB545
Federal law nullification bill is HB170
Manufactured in Missouri gun bill is HB162
Gun safety bill is SB75
Constitutional amendment is SJR14
Online:
Legislature: http://www.moga.mo.gov
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