A lawsuit filed by the city and county of St. Louis challenging Gov. Mike Parson’s ban on federal gun laws is too little, too late, according to leadership at the Missouri Sheriffs' Association.
“Where were they during the legislative process to work with the senators, the representatives, and the various lobbyists and other groups to make their concerns known,” said Kevin Merritt, president of the Missouri Sheriffs' Association.
St. Louis City and County sued the State of Missouri and Attorney General Eric Schmitt in Cole County Circuit Court alleging that HB 85 is unconstitutional.
“The consequences of HB 85 are tangible and real,” wrote Heidi Leopold, associate county counselor with the Office of the St. Louis County Counselor and Robert Dierker, associate city counselor with the City of St. Louis, in the complaint. “They will make it easier for criminals to use guns in committing violent acts. They will give gun violence, a safe haven in Missouri, and local governments. Like the plaintiffs may be disqualified from receiving federal grants and technical assistance through the United States Department of Justice.”
Neither Leopold nor Dierker responded immediately to requests for comment.
“The Sheriffs were taking it on the chin and on the nose, and everybody else was quiet,” Merritt told the St. Louis Record. “Maybe they could have had some influence on some different language that could have been in the particular law, or maybe they could have influenced some of the senators or representatives in the way they voted after a better understanding of the ramifications of passing this piece of legislation but instead they were quiet.”
Tishaura O. Jones, the first African American woman to be elected mayor of St. Louis. was elected this year and sworn in on April 20.
Also known as House Bill 85, the Second Amendment Preservation Act (SAPA) was introduced by Rep. Jered Taylor (R-Republic) earlier this year and prevents local law enforcement agencies from enforcing federal gun laws. Gov. Parson enacted the bill into law on June 12.
“There are so many questions that come up with the language of the new law that will go into effect,” Merritt said. “For example, there are a number of Sheriff's agencies in the state of Missouri that house federal prisoners for the marshal service or for ATF and those types of federal agencies. Does the new law prohibit the sheriff from housing federal inmates for the Marshall service if the individual is being prosecuted for a federal gun crime?”
Another issue that has emerged, according to Merritt, is police chiefs in the St. Louis area removing their officers out of all federal task forces, the Missouri attorney general removing some of their attorneys from prosecutors’ offices, and not helping with federal prosecution.
“It's really having a chilling effect on local law enforcement here in Missouri working with the federal agencies get violent criminals off the street,” he said. “When you don't know clearly what the law allows you to do and not to do sometimes the best option is to not act at all, which is unfortunate.”
In an email reply, St. Louis County Counselor Beth Orwick said, "It is the County’s practice not to comment on pending litigation."