Kamala Harris’ vehement anti-gun views, which include support for gun confiscation and a ban on semi-automatic firearms, have reinvigorated a serious and needed debate about the authority states have to check unconstitutional federal laws. Frustratingly, a panel of federal appellate judges just neutered much of that ability in a unanimous ruling to uphold a lower court injunction against a pro-gun Missouri law — and in the process they ignored substance, precedent, and common sense. The judges got it wrong, and our federal system of checks and balances will pay the price if this decision is not overturned.
Missouri was ahead of the pack when their legislature passed the Second Amendment Preservation Act (SAPA) in 2021 and declared many federal gun laws and executive actions unconstitutional. In turn, the new law wholly restricted state authorities from aiding federal officials in the enforcement of these gun laws. The legislation also applied to any future infringements by federal officials on the right of the people to keep and bear arms, thereby casting a wide shield against the future gun-grabbers who could one day occupy Capitol Hill or the White House.
The well-intentioned SAPA greatly restricted the state’s cooperation with agencies such as the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), which is actively building a national gun registry, and it made clear state authorities may not offer resources including technology, housing, transportation, and other facilities to federal officials while engaged in the enforcement of federal gun laws. Citizens were provided a private right of
