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EVEN AS PRESIDENT OBAMA UNVEILED PLANS THIS WEEK FOR
TIGHTER GUN CONTROL, STATE LEGISLATORS IN MISSOURI BEGAN PREEMPTIVE ACTION TO COUNTERACT
ANY COMING REGULATIONS. UNDER A BILL INTRODUCED IN THE MISSOURI SENATE, FEDERAL AGENTS
TRYING TO ENFORCE NEW GUN RESTRICTIONS IN THE SHOW-ME STATE WOULD BE GUILTY OF A CLASS
D FELONY. THE MEASURE SEEKS TO NULLIFY ANY FEDERAL LAW RESTRICTING
SEMIAUTOMATIC GUNS AND ACCESSORIES BEYOND RESTRICTIONS THAT EXISTED AT THE END OF 2012.
SIMILAR LEGISLATION HAS BEEN FILED IN THE MISSOURI HOUSE. BY MID-WEEK, THE MEASURE HAD
ALREADY GATHERED 70 COSPONSORS. JOPLIN AREA LAWMAKER CASEY GUERNSEY HELPED CRAFT THE BILL.
YOU KNOW, OF COURSE, IT'S BROUGHT ABOUT BECAUSE OF ALL THE TRAGEDIES THAT'S TAKEN PLACE
OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS, WHICH IS HORRIFIC, BUT IT'S UNFORTUNATE THAT SO MANY PEOPLE
ARE WILLING TO USE THOSE PARTICULAR TRAGEDIES TO FURTHER THEIR CAUSE OF GUN CONTROL.
THAT IS OUTRAGEOUS TO ME. SO CAN A STATE LIKE MISSOURI, THOUGH, PREEMPT LAWS THAT ARE
COMING FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ON GUN CONTROL? STACEY.
NO. IT'S THAT SIMPLE. THE SUPREMACY CLAUSE OF THE
CONSTITUTION DOESN'T ALLOW IT. SO IF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, EITHER THROUGH EXECUTIVE ORDER,
THROUGH ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION, OR THROUGH LEGISLATION PASSES GUN CONTROL LAWS, THEY CAN'T DO
IT, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, THE STATES HAVE NO AUTHORITY TO ARREST A FEDERAL AGENT WHO COMES
TO THE STATE TO TRY TO ENFORCE A LAW. WHY THEN IS THE STATE OF
MISSOURI -- WHY ARE STATE LAWMAKERS PUSHING THIS? IT'S GETTING A HUGE AMOUNT OF
COSPONSORS ALREADY, BILL. IT IS, AND I AGREE WITH STACEY.
THISIT IS GOOD POLITICS. IT'S AN INCENDIARY ISSUE. OTHER STATES -- MISSOURI IS NOT
ALONE IN THIS. THERE ARE OTHER STATES DOING THE SAME THING.
A COUPLE OF POINTS. FIRST, THIS IS AN INTERESTING -- STACEY, OF COURSE, IS RIGHT.
YOU CAN'T NULLIFY FEDERAL LAWS. BUT A COUPLE OF
STATES LEGALIZED MARIJUANA SPOKING IN NOVEMBER,
AND THERE IS A COMING CLASH BETWEEN THOSE STATE LAWS AND FEDERAL LAWS BETWEEN PROHIBIT
THE POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA. THAT WILL BE A REAL TEST OF THE SUPREMACY CLAUSE AT SOME POINT,
OR COULD BE ANYWAY. THE SECOND POINT, NOTHING IS FUNNIER THAN WATCHING STATE
LEGISLATORS COMPLAIN ABOUT FEDERAL MANDATES AND ORDERS FROM WASHINGTON AND THEN TURN AROUND
AND ORDER STATES AND COUNTIES TO DO SOMETHING. IN THIS CASE, FOR EXAMPLE, THE
STATE DOES NOT ALLOW KANSAS CITY OR ST. LOUIS OR
ANY MUNICIPALITY TO SET ITS OWN GUN LAWS, BECAUSE
SOMEHOW THE STATE IS SMARTER THAN BOTH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.
THAT ALWAYS CAUSES ME TO CHUCKLE. IF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, FOR
INSTANCE, WANTED TO PUT SOME RESTRICTIONS ON GUN OWNERSHIP, IF MAYOR SLY JAMES WANTED TO DO
THAT, THEY COULDN'T? CORRECT. WE SPOKE TO SLY JAMES ABOUT
THIS. IT'S US FRUSTRATING TO THINK THT IT IS SET UP IN A ONE SIZE FITS
ALL MANNER, THAT THE RULES FOR A JOPLIN, MISSOURI,
A VERY SMALL RURAL TOWN, PICK YOUR TOWN IN
MISSOURI, ARE THE SAME FOR ST. LOUIS AND KANSAS CITY WHERE OUR HOMICIDE RATE TOPPED 100 LAST
YEAR. AND SO THE MAYOR SAID OUR HANDS ARE TIED.
WE WOULD LIKE TO DO ALL KINDS OF THINGS AND THINK
OUT OF THE BOX AND LOOK AT OTHER CITIES AND
WHAT OTHER MUNICIPALITIES HAVE DONE, SPECIFICALLY
WITH YOU ARE BONE CORE CRIME AND BLACK -- YOU
URBAN CORE CRIME. THE LEGISLATURE PREVENTS CITIES FROM RAISING THEIR
CIGARETTE TAX. THE STATE LEGISLATURE PREEMPTED THAT.
I SHOULD POINT OUT HERE THAT GOVERNOR, JAY NIXON,
A DEMOCRAT, SAID HE WOULD NOT SUPPORT GIVING
CITIES POWER TO REGULATE GUNS. GUN CONTROL, IN TERMS OF FAVORING LESS GUN CONTROL AS A
BIPARTISAN ISSUE, YOU SEE SENATOR JOE MANCHIN, AND HE'S NOT STEPPING OUT TOO FAR ON A
LIMB TO SAY HE'S TOO FAR FOR GUN CONTROL, AND IT'S THE FEAR FOR THE POWERFUL GUN LOBBY.
BUT LET'S GO BACK TO A MINUTES FOR WHAT SLY JAMES SAID AND SOME OF THE OTHER CITY MAYORS.
THEY ARE ONLY POINTING TO GUN CONTROL AS THE
ISSUES THAT WILL SOLVE THE *** RATES IN THESE
INNER CITIES. YOU WANT TO THINK OUTSIDE OF BOX, MAYOR SLIEP SLY JAMES, THEN
LET'S LOOK AT ECONOMIC AND POVERTY ISSUES. IT'S NOT JUST GUNS.
WHILE WE'RE GETTING SIDETRACKED ON JUST GUNS, I THINK THAT NEEDS TO BE PULLED BACK IN.
GUN CONTROL ISN'T THE ONLY SOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM. BILL GRADY OF KMBZ DECIDED
TO TRY FOR HIMSELF THIS WEEK HOW EASY IT IS TO
PURCHASE A WEAPON AND WHAT KINDS OF QUESTIONS YOU
MIGHT BE ASKED. YOU SHOWED UP AT LAST WEEK'S EXPO GUN SHOW, WHICH BY THE WAY
AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THIS FOOTAGE FROM 41 ACTION NEWS, SAW HUGE CROWDS.
WHAT KIND OF WEAPON WERE YOU LOOKING TO BUY, FIRST OF ALL, BILL?
I WENT IN WITH THE IDEA OF BUYING A LOW COST HIGH CAPACITY TYPE OF -- WHAT IS CALLED AN
ASSAULT RIFLE. I COULDN'T FIND THE PARTICULAR MODEL I WAS LOOKING FOR.
I ENDED UP BUYING USED. SOME WOULD SAY IT'S AN ASSAULT RIFLE, SOME WOULD SAY IT'S NOT.
THE PROCESS WAS AMAZINGLY SIMPLE. THE QUESTION ALSO WAS, WERE
YOU ASKED ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT A BACKGROUND CHECK OR ANYTHING OF THAT NATURE?
NO. BUT LET ME BE CLEAR ABOUT THIS, THE GENTLEMAN I PURCHASED FROM
WAS NOT A LICENSED FIREARMS DEALER. HE WAS A PRIVATE SELLER.
HE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING ILLEGAL. I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING ILLEGAL.
IT WAS AMAZINGLY SIMPLE AND TOOK
ABOUT TWO MINUTES. ONE OF THE THINGS BILL TAUGHT ME, WE HEAR A LOT ABOUT THE GUN
SHOW LOOPHOLE. IT'S REALLY, ACCORDING TO BILL, A PRIVATE SELLER LOOPHOLE THAT
HE COULD HAVE LEFT WITH 100 GUNS AND SOLD THEM
OUT OF THE TRUNK OF HIS CAR TO ANYONE HE WANTED
WITH NO BACKGROUND CHECK AT ALL. ANYONE CAN DO THAT LEGALLY IN THE UNITED STATES, AND I'VE
ASKED TIME AND TIME AGAIN WHY THE GUN DEALERS -- WHY THEY DOESN'T BOTHER THEM THAT THEY
CAN BE IN BOOTH A AND HAVE TO PLAY BY THE RULES AND SOME GUY IN BOOTH B DIDN'T HAVE TO PLAY
BY THE SAME SET OF RULES, AND THE PRESIDENT HAS SAID THERE IS A GREAT DEAL OF SPACE BETWEEN
THE SECOND AMENDMENT AND NO RULES AT ALL, AND I THINK WE'RE ALL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT
THAT SPACE IS RIGHT NOW. BILL. THE ONLY THING -- AND DANA IS
RIGHT. THERE REALLY ISN'T A LOOPHOLE IN TERMS OF THE GUN SHOWS.
THE ONLY DISTINCTION IS, IN A PRIVATE SALE, GENERALLY SPEAKING, YOU'RE GOING TO
TRANSACT AT SOMEONE'S HOME AND IT'S GOING TO INVOLVE ONE OR TWO WEAPONS.
IF YOU GO TO A GUN SHOW AND A NONLICENSED DEALER CAN HAVE A WHOLE ARRAY OF WEAPONS, VARIETY,
HANDGUNS, SHOTGUNS, RIFLES. THIS GENTLEMAN HAD PROBABLY TWO, THREE DOZEN WEAPONS, SO IT
REALLY IS VOLUME AND VARIETY THAT MAKES A DISTINCTION, IF THAT, IN FACT, IS A LOOPHOLE.