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House adopts amended Second Amendment Preservation Act after hours of debate
Summary
The Missouri House voted to adopt and perfect a committee substitute for House Bill 11 75, the Second Amendment Preservation Act (SAPA), after extended floor debate on federalism, law enforcement and public safety.
The Missouri House adopted and perfected a committee substitute for House Bill 11 75, commonly called the Second Amendment Preservation Act, following several hours of floor debate and a roll-call vote that perfected the bill 101-49.
Supporters said the bill protects state sovereignty and prevents federal authorities from commandeering state or local law enforcement to enforce federal firearms rules. "For once, we're saying the government cannot do something to people," the bill sponsor, the Gentleman from Pulaski, told the chamber during floor debate.
Opponents, including members who identified as former prosecutors and public defenders, said the bill could disrupt federal-state task forces that investigate violent crime and could expose local law enforcement agencies to civil liability. "This bill creates an entirely new category of lawsuit aimed squarely at police officers, at their agencies, at their employers," the Gentleman from Jasper said, describing risks to cooperation and public safety.
The bill includes language limiting state cooperation in enforcing some federal firearms laws and creates civil remedies and fines for violations; supporters said the measure was rewritten to address concerns the Eighth Circuit cited when it struck a 2021 version of the statute. Sponsors repeatedly framed the measure as a Tenth Amendment and anti-commandeering protection rather than a change to Missouri firearms law.
Debate also included legal and historical arguments. The Gentleman from Pulaski cited the Supremacy Clause and the Tenth Amendment in a sustained floor speech arguing for state authority to refuse enforcement of certain federal acts that the state views as overreaching.
After floor debate, the House adopted the committee substitute and then perfected the bill by roll call. The Clerk reported the final perfection vote as 101 yes, 49 no.
The House vote sends the perfected committee substitute to the next legislative step; the transcript records no final enactment date or Senate action during this session.
