Missouri House Speaker Pro Tem Chad Perkins, R-Bowling Green, is sponsoring House Bill 2176, a proposal that would bar state and local authorities from enforcing any red flag gun orders and preventing courts from temporarily removing firearms from people.
Perkins told Missourinet that he wants to protect citizens against laws like the ones in Massachusetts.
“They have laws that say, well, we’re just going to take your guns, even if you haven’t done anything wrong, because we think you could potentially do that, right?” asked Perkins. “And that’s just a lot of government. I mean, where in the world does it exist when government gets involved in something, it gets better? It doesn’t work that way.”
HB 2176 would also let Missourians as young as 18 apply for a concealed carry permit—down from the current minimum age of 19.
Perkins told Missourinet that 18 is more consistent with other things that recognize you as being an adult.
“Whether it be the military or voting, whatever it might be,” said Perkins. “Eighteen is the age. Nineteen is just this ridiculous sort of number that someone sort of capriciously chose.”
But House Minority Leader Ashley Aune, D-Kansas City, said she has concerns.
“When someone is in a mental health crisis and their family doesn’t have the ability to remove those deadly weapons from them, we have to have a mechanism in place to keep not only that individual safe, but the folks around them,” said Aune. “And the idea that we would just put a complete moratorium on that in the off chance the federal government passes it is really concerning.”
Aune said she does not support the bill, even though she is pro second amendment.
“As a gun owner myself, I completely respect the idea of due process for gun owners and the constitutional right we have to carry,” said Aune. “And I wish that more people really understood that a lot of us who do own guns just want people to have them safely, but also to know that their loved one, if they’re going through a crisis, that there’s a law in place that would help them protect them.”
If passed, Perkins’ bill would impose steep civil penalties—up to $50,000 per violation—on any state or local agency that attempts to enforce red flag orders.
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