By Anthony Morelli
Gun control lobbyists have gotten their way in one key fight.
They demanded gun control with a pressure campaign on Republican legislators.
And the Republicans cowered in fear and caved to their demands.
Missouri is a state that has been controlled by Republicans, to one degree or another, for many decades.
According to World Population Review, 48.8% of its residents own guns, which makes it an above-average gun-owning state.
One would think that Missouri politicians would want to show off their pro-gun credentials to their constituents.
But all it takes is for the media and the gun control lobby to stoke some fear, and that is more than enough to get these politicians to cave to them and give them what they want.
There was a shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs parade, which later turned out to be street criminals shooting at each other.
Gun control would have done nothing to stop this shooting. The only thing that would have stopped it is a crackdown on crime and gang activity.
But the Republicans in the Missouri legislature were so spooked by it that they abandoned all efforts to expand gun rights.
According to My Ozarks Online, “In the wake of last week’s mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl celebration, a top Missouri Republican says now is not the time for two bills that would expand gun rights. House Majority Leader Jon Patterson, of Lee’s Summit, says legislation that would allow guns on public transportation and in churches will take a back seat. So will another attempt to exempt guns and ammunition from sales taxes. House Democratic Leader Crystal Quade, who was at the Chiefs celebration, thinks she knows why the plug was pulled on these bills.”
The fact that Patterson and his fellow members of Republican leadership would abandon efforts to protect the rights of the state’s gun owners because a couple of inner-city criminals decided to shoot at each other indiscriminately is outrageous.
It is not the fault of gun owners that this happened. It is the fault of the pro-crime politicians who run America’s inner cities. They are the ones who created this mess.
But of course, gun owners are always the ones who take the blame.
The article continues, “Several House Democrats plan to file a resolution this week that would give local government more power to make their own public safety laws.”
At the same time that Republicans are pulling the plug on efforts to safeguard gun rights, Democrats are charging ahead with gun control efforts that would weaken the Second Amendment.
They are trying to allow localities, like St. Louis or Kansas City, to enact draconian gun control laws if they choose to.
This would be catastrophic for peaceful gun owners who live within the borders of those two cities and could lose their guns as a result.
Missouri’s weak-kneed politicians should stop cowering in fear of the gun control lobby and do something bold for once to protect their constituents.