Missouri does like to show off, which is the reason it is known as the ‘Show Me State’. This time, they want to be shown that the rule is when state law conflicts with federal law, the federal law wins. They attempted back in July to enact a law which would nullify all federal gun laws and authorize local police to arrest any federal officer found attempting to enforce any federal gun law. The Governor, Democrat Jay Nixon, vetoed the bill on July 5.
The gun fanatics of Missouri are not about to give up that easily, though. They are going to begin override proceedings today. It is in no way a foregone conclusion that the override will be successful, as the State Senate Majority Leader, Senator Ron Richard, who originally voted for the bill, now says he will vote against overriding the veto.
The rationale behind the bill is that they are protecting the people of Missouri from the big bad federal government, which they think is coming to take away all of their toys. They are operating on the assumption that all federal gun laws overstep the Constitution because the states have the right to make laws on anything that is not delegated to the federal government. Somehow they think that the feds do not have the final say about guns. That power is granted to the federal government in the form of the Second Amendment, which contains the phrase, “…well regulated…”
When state law and federal law conflict, federal law takes precedence: it’s that simple. While Missouri legislators may like the idea of giving all of their constituents access to machine guns, the federal government has already ruled that they cannot and state law cannot change that by saying it is against the law to enforce the law. See how silly it sounds? That is what they are trying to do this very day in Missouri. Apparently, we have to show them one more time.
