Jackson County, Missouri legislator Manny Abarca is billing his latest proposal as a prohibition on minors accessing firearms, but his measure would go much further; barring adults younger than 21 from possessing guns, even if they've passed a background check and are eligible under state and federal law to exercise their Second Amendment rights. 

Multiple courts around the country have found laws that restrict under-21s access to a firearm unconstitutional, but Abarca seems unconcerned about a potential legal challenge, as well as the fact that his proposed ordinance would clearly violate Missouri's firearm preemption statute. 

“We do have the ability. Whether or not the state will challenge us or not on the allowance of these things to go into place will come up," he said. "And so, it is an opportunity for the Attorney General to say to Missouri to challenge us on these laws, but again, what does that say about his focus and priority — is it about keeping people safe? Or is it about protecting guns? The reality of whether or not this is legal, I’ll leave that up to our court system to figure out."

It's not about protecting guns. It's about protecting a fundamental civil right; one that Abarca apparently doesn't believe applies to young adults. As for letting the courts figure out whether Abarca's proposal is legal, all he has to do is consult Missouri statute and he'll quickly discover that it's not.

1.  The general assembly hereby occupies and preempts the entire field of legislation touching in any way firearms, components, ammunition and supplies to the complete exclusion of any order, ordinance or regulation by any political subdivision of this state.  Any existing or future orders, ordinances or regulations in this field are hereby and shall be null and void except as provided in subsection 3 of this section.

  2.  No county, city, town, village, municipality, or other political subdivision of this state shall adopt any order, ordinance or regulation concerning in any way the sale, purchase, purchase delay, transfer, ownership, use, keeping, possession, bearing, transportation, licensing, permit, registration, taxation other than sales and compensating use taxes or other controls on firearms, components, ammunition, and supplies except as provided in subsection 3 of this section.

The only exception within the firearms preemption statute is allowing municipalities and counties to regulate the open carrying of firearms. Local ordinances relating to the sale and possession of firearms, however, is explicitly prohibited under Missouri's preemption law. 

So why is Abarca so eager to flout state law? He claims there's a "dire need" for the measure. 

“The time for action is now,” Abarca said Tuesday. “We cannot sit idly while our communities are torn apart by senseless violence. The Chiefs parade tragedy and attempted assassination of former President (Donald) Trump highlights the dire need for stronger gun reform laws in Missouri that specifically address the possession of firearms (for) juveniles.” 

... “We must ensure that those under the age of 21 do not have easy access to deadly weapons where they pose a threat to themselves and others,” Abarca said, arguing measured protections like mandatory background checks, permanent process for conceal and carry, and waiting periods to purchase are basic laws that individuals from both parties agree on.

If there was truly bipartisan agreement on the gun control policies Abarca is touting, Missouri's legislature would have enacted them. Instead, the state has adopted commonsense protections for the right to keep and bear arms, including a Constitutional Carry bill that went into effect after lawmakers overrode then-Gov. Jay Nixon's veto of the measure in 2016. Voters didn't punish Republicans in the elections that fall. Instead, they elected a Republican governor, lt. governor, treasurer, attorney general, and secretary of state... while adding two more Republicans to the ranks of state legislators. 

Since then the state has only become more supportive of the right to keep and bear arms, and a majority of voters have continued to support Republicans over Democrats. Jackson County, which includes large portions of Kansas City and is the second-most populous county in the state behind St. Louis County, is one of the few strongholds for Democrats in the state. Abarca's proposal may win applause from local voters, but if his fellow county legislators actually move forward with his under-21 gun ban, it won't be long before its struck down entirely by the courts.