Missouri governor's veto of bill criminalizing enforcement of federal gun laws stands

The Republican-dominated legislature in Missouri failed to override Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon's veto of a bill aimed at criminalizing enforcement of federal gun laws, Jason Hancock reports for the Kansas City Star. The gun bill, "dubbed the Second Amendment Preservation Act, declared invalid any federal policies that 'infringe on the people’s right to keep and bear arms.' Federal authorities who attempt to enforce those laws could have faced state misdemeanor charges punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Similar penalties would have applied to anyone who published identifying information about gun owners." (Associated Press photo by Orlin Wagner: The Missouri Senate held a special session Wednesday)

Jay Nixon

Nixon vetoed the bill "because he said it infringed on First Amendment free-speech rights and violated the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution, which gives precedence to federal laws over conflicting state ones," Hancock notes. Republican Sen. Brian Nieves, who sponsored the bill, "said an override seemed inevitable just a few weeks ago. But that quickly changed after Attorney General Chris Koster, the Missouri Fraternal Order of Police, the Missouri Sheriffs’ Association and chiefs of police in Kansas City and St. Louis came out in opposition." (Read more) Earlier this week in a recall election Colorado ousted two Democratic senators who supported state gun control legislation.

Nixon's veto of a $700 million tax cut also stood, but the Legislature did vote in favor of overriding Nixon’s veto of an agriculture bill "that a state ag leader says will send a strong message to cattle rustlers and animal rights activists," Julie Harker reports for Brownfield Ag News. Mike Deering, Executive Vice President of the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association, told Harker, “It’s not just about stealing cattle. It’s not just about stealing livelihoods. It’s about blatant animal abuse. These rustlers don’t care how they treat animals. They don’t load them properly. They’re not Beef Quality Assurance Certified. I mean, these people don’t care about the animal.” (Read more)