Judge Rules Major Law Unconstitutional

(NewsReady.com) – Conservatives have tried hard to preserve the Second Amendment rights of American citizens in recent years. Their efforts come as the Left pushes to enact even more restrictions on the constitutional right to own a gun. President Joe Biden, for example, signed the first major gun bill in decades last year. One state passed a law to preserve the 2A rights of people, but a judge declared it unconstitutional.

In 2021, Missouri passed HB 85, known as the Second Amendment Preservation Act. The law penalizes police officers who enforce federal gun laws. One provision stated police who follow federal law are subject to $50,000 fines.

The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the state in 2022, arguing the law undermined the federal government by impeding weapons and drug investigations. In a February 2022 press release, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said the law “impedes criminal law enforcement operations” in the state. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton said, “A state cannot simply declare federal laws invalid.” It seems a federal judge agreed.

A U.S. federal judge ruled today that a Missouri state law, which made it more difficult for police to enforce federal gun laws, is unconstitutional. https://t.co/04i3FDbREA

— The New Republic (@newrepublic) March 7, 2023

In his decision, US District Court Judge Brian Wimes ruled HB 85 is unconstitutional and is now “invalid, null, void, and of no effect.” The judge explained state laws cannot nullify that and pointed out the state knows that.

The ruling stated that just because legislators claimed the law wasn’t a violation of the Supremacy Clause of the US Constitution “does not make it so.” Wimes said the “plain language” of the law “reiterates and confirms [its] unconstitutional design.” The Supremacy Clause essentially states federal laws take precedence over state laws when they conflict.

Further, the judge ruled the law claims to “protect citizens” while exposing them “to greater harm by interfering” with the government’s ability to enforce laws passed by Congress that are meant to protect Americans “within the limits of the Constitution.”

Missouri has vowed to appeal the ruling.