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Senators, prosecutors and police testimonies prompt calls to change law on minors in possession of firearms
Summary
Lawmakers described local policing experiences and witnesses' testimony that minors possessing firearms are sometimes released because possession is not a criminal offense in Missouri; several senators urged statutory fixes to make certain juvenile firearm possession an enumerated offense to support interrupting violent incidents and protecting officers.
Senators spent floor time recounting law-enforcement testimony that current statutes can prevent officers from holding juveniles found with firearms, and urged changes that would give prosecutors and judges tools to intervene.
A senator said conversations with local police chiefs and juvenile-court officers showed repeated instances where minors were found with firearms, released because statutes treat possession by a minor as an ordinance-level issue in Missouri, and then later committed violent crimes. "Let us get guns out of the hands of children," one lawmaker said, reporting that chiefs and prosecutors support legal changes to require more actionable remedies when minors possess firearms.
Speakers referenced prior drafting changes they said unintentionally removed age-based restrictions and noted the legislature can act to enumerate offenses or adjust the point system judges use to evaluate juvenile certification. Some senators also argued that providing better data to prosecutors and enumerating possession as an offense would reduce risks to law-enforcement officers and communities. Several floor speakers urged a focus on targeted statutory corrections rather than only punitive measures.
No bill vote occurred on the floor in this session; senators said judiciary and criminal-justice committees have been hearing related legislation and that follow-up hearings would continue.
