Missourians could sue state and federal agencies for $50,000 under the law
The US Justice Department filed a lawsuit on Wednesday to prevent Missouri from enforcing a gun rights bill that was passed last year. The legislation, House Bill 85 or the Second Amendment Preservation Act, essentially invalidates federal gun laws that do not have a state equivalency in Missouri.
Local law enforcement could face $50,000 lawsuits from private citizens in the state who feel their Second Amendment right has been violated.
“The Missouri law declares five categories of federal firearms laws ‘invalid’ and deters and penalizes their enforcement by federal, state and local law enforcement officers,” a statement from the Justice Department reads. Attorney General Merrick Garland claimed the action by Missouri “impedes criminal enforcement operations” in the state.
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“A state cannot simply declare federal laws invalid,” Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, also said.
According to the department, the law has caused confusion among officials and said many local authorities have not been as cooperative with federal authorities.
“Critical information that state and local offices previously shared with federal law enforcement officers to facilitate public safety and law enforcement is now frequently unavailable to federal law enforcement agencies,” the complaint states.
A spokesperson for the Missouri Attorney General’s Office responded to the suit by standing by the gun rights law and accusing President Joe Biden’s administration of putting “partisan politics ahead of public safety.”
Missouri’s law is also facing a challenge in the state’s Supreme Court, which heard arguments in the case earlier this month.
