Missouri House Democrats launch uphill push to give cities more power over gun control

Takeaways:

• Missouri House Democrats introduced dozens of resolutions to allow Missouri cities to pass their own firearm ordinances.
• The Republican-controlled General Assembly is opposed to local control of gun regulations, but Democrats are hoping to draw attention to an initiative petition effort with similar goals.
• Republicans on Friday announced they would pause consideration on two firearm-related bills in response to the fatalities from the Super Bowl parade shooting.

Missouri House Democrats reacted to the fatal shooting that followed Kansas City’s Super Bowl celebration by pushing to give mayors and city councils more leeway on gun control.

House Minority Leader Crystal Quade and her Democratic caucus bristle at the way Missouri’s lawmakers refuse to consider legislation that would create more firearms restrictions in the state.

“It is time for us as leaders and legislators to do what is right and take action to protect the lives of our children and community,” Quade, from Springfield, who is running for governor, said Monday afternoon on the steps of the Capitol.

Dozens of Democrats filed resolutions on Tuesday that would let voters decide whether Missouri’s major cities can pass local ordinances that restrict firearms. If the measure did manage to pass both chambers, it would still be up to voters to give the constitutional amendment the final OK on the November ballot. Missouri is one of many states with a preemption law that bars cities from passing their own firearm legislation .

The text is similar to an initiative petition effort in the state that would allow cities like Kansas City or St. Louis to pass their own gun laws. Under the resolution, cities could regulate concealed weapons, remove a person’s weapons under certain circumstances and cooperate with federal agencies on investigations. Three different versions of the petition are filed with the secretary of state’s office.

A measure allowing St. Louis or Kansas City to pass their own gun laws will be an uphill battle within the Missouri General Assembly, Quade said.

“We can get loud and we can draw attention to this,” Quade said. “We know citizens in Missouri have to constantly use the ballot initiative to get these folks to listen.”

That’s why she’s hoping to draw attention to the initiative effort, although it is unclear where the petition stands. In late August, Spectrum Local News reported that the effort , dubbed Sensible Missouri, was “on hold” after internal polling returned lukewarm voter support for the measure.

“I honestly don’t know where the campaign is,” Quade said. “And anything I can do to elevate the fact that there is a petition out there that folks can sign to try to take some of their power back, I’m going to do.”

Representatives for Sensible Missouri could not be reached for comment on the status of the initiative effort.

Concessions for now from House Republicans

On Friday, House Majority Leader Jonathan Patterson of Lee’s Summit announced a pause on a pair of bills related to firearm access in Missouri. One would allow Missourians to carry their weapons on public buses and into churches, while another bill would remove the sales tax for firearms and ammunition.

Both of the tabled bills have been consistently filed by lawmakers for the past several years in Jefferson City without passing.

House Speaker Dean Plocher of St. Louis County told reporters last week that “laws alone don’t solve the problem” when it comes to preventing a mass shooting.

Quade responded to Plocher’s comment Monday afternoon.

“Listen, if laws didn’t help things, we would not even be here,” she said.

On Monday, the House approved a package of bills related to public safety. It includes Blair’s Law , which would increase the penalty for celebratory gunfire inside city limits.

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