Dems plan to chip away at Missouri gun rights law

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The state of Missouri wanted it to be clear that lawmakers there supported the Second Amendment. That’s probably why they passed the controversial Second Amendment Preservation Act in the first place.

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Unsurprisingly, there’s been much wailing and gnashing of teeth since the law went into effect and pretty much by the usual suspects.

Police are upset because it doesn’t let them do everything they want to do, which is normal, and Democrats are upset because it doesn’t let police arrest people for guns.

With the upcoming legislative session, though, Democrats in Missouri are hoping to chip away at SAPA.

The top Democrat in the Missouri Senate has filed legislation to repeal parts of a new state law forbidding local police from enforcing federal gun laws.

Senate Minority Leader John Rizzo, D-Independence, said the law as it is currently written has hampered efforts by law enforcement authorities to protect the public.

“Under last year’s law, criminals win. Under my bill, we will Back the Blue, support our police, and get violent criminals off the streets,” Rizzo said during proceedings on the second day of the Legislature’s annual session.

Rizzo said the law has made police officers’ jobs harder and more dangerous.

“Where I come from, supporting our police must mean more than putting a sticker on your car. To truly Back the Blue, we must protect our police by repealing the laws that put them at risk,” Rizzo said.

Rizzo’s talking a big game from as the leader of a party that jumped all over “defund the police” not that long ago.

Frankly, any Democrat talking about how they “Back the Blue” really needs to be mocked. Especially when Rizzo simply tried to deflect it by saying no one actually wanted to defund the police.

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Rizzo and his fellow Democrats love to tout their support of police when it’s convenient and are typically quick to vilify those same officers when that’s what’s convenient.

The truth is that no one’s job is more dangerous. If anything, the fact that police aren’t randomly confronting people they believe to be armed has probably mitigated some of the risks in their jobs, though I’m not surprised a lot of people don’t see it that way.

Then there’s the question of whether there’s a real chance this will pass or not, and I’m inclined to believe it won’t.

While I think some Republicans will likely vote for it, I don’t think it’s ever going to get to that point. Rizzo is the minority leader, after all. He doesn’t have the final say-so on whether this gets a vote. Even if it does, I don’t think enough Republicans cross the line to back it. I just don’t see it.

So, at the end of the day, this is a lot of bluster with very little substance.

In fact, it sounds like gun control in a nutshell, when you really think about it. No wonder someone like Rizzo thinks this is a good way to proceed.

It’s not.

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