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Gov. Nixon sets 5 proposed constitutional amendments for August primary ballot

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Governor Jay Nixon (D) has set August 5 as the date for several proposed changes to Missouri’s Constitution, including the three-fourths of one cent sales tax to support transportation that was adopted by the legislature this year. Three other proposed amendments will appear on the November 4 ballot.

The issues Nixon has put on the August 5 ballot are:

  • House Joint Resolution No. 11, passed by the General Assembly in 2013, proposes amending the Missouri Constitution to include language forever guaranteeing the right of farmers and ranchers to engage in agricultural production and ranching practices.
  • House Joint Resolution No. 48, passed by the General Assembly in 2014, proposes amending the Missouri Constitution to direct the state lottery commission to develop and begin selling a ‘Veterans Lottery Ticket’, from which all net proceeds would be deposited into the Missouri Veterans’ Commission’s capital improvement trust fund.
  • House Joint Resolution No. 68, passed by the General Assembly in 2014, proposes amending the Missouri Constitution to enact an additional sales tax to fund infrastructure projects including highways and roads.
  • Senate Joint Resolution No. 27, passed by the General Assembly in 2014, proposes amending the Missouri Constitution to include language stating that people shall be secure in their electronic communications and data from unreasonable searches and seizures as they are now likewise secure in their persons, homes, papers and effects.
  • Senate Joint Resolution No. 36, passed by the General Assembly in 2014, proposes amending the Missouri Constitution to include a declaration that the right to keep and bear arms is an unalienable right and that the state government is obligated to uphold that right.

That leaves on the November 4 ballot:

  • House Joint Resolution No. 16, passed by the General Assembly in 2013, proposes amending the Missouri Constitution to allow relevant evidence of prior criminal acts to be admissible in prosecutions for crimes of a sexual nature involving a victim under eighteen years of age.
  • House Joint Resolution No. 72, passed by the General Assembly in 2014, proposes amending the Missouri Constitution to include language relating to a governor’s fiscal management authority.
  • House Joint Resolution No. 90, passed by the General Assembly in 2014, proposes amending the Missouri Constitution to permit voting in person or by mail for a period of six business days prior to and including the Wednesday before the Election Day in all general elections.

Two other issues are still pending certification for the November ballot.

 See the release from Nixon’s office

State legislature asks voters to consider stronger gun rights

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The state legislature is asking Missouri voters whether the Constitution should be changed to provide a stronger right to bear arms.

The legislature has sent to the November ballot a proposal to define the right to bear arms in Missouri as “unalienable” and to require the state to defend any infringement of that right. It would also guarantee a constitutional right to defend one’s family with a firearm.

The proposal cleared the state Senate 23-8 on Wednesday after the House passed it 122-31 the day before.

Representative Jay Barnes (R-Jefferson City) says he’s opposed past proposals that he thought would have put gun rights above other rights, but this is different.

“It ensures that Second Amendment rights, by subjecting government regulations impacting them to strict scrutiny,” says Barnes, referring to a form of judicial review used by courts to determine the constitutionality of certain laws, “is given the same protection afforded every other fundamental right in the United States’ and the Missouri Constitution.”

The ballot issue would also remove wording in the Missouri Constitution that say the right to bear arms does not justify wearing concealed weapons. Representative Linda Black (D-Desloge) says that brings to the Constitution up to date.

“Several years ago we passed that conceal and carry law, that we have the right to carry after completing sufficient course,” says Black. “So, it is something that needs to be changed. It’s inaccurate in our Constitution. It’s an error at this point in time that needs to be fixed.”

Representative Stacey Newman (D-St. Louis) thinks the changes would hinder the prosecution of criminals that use guns.

“Current law allows those city prosecutors to file criminal charges for those who ignore the law,” says Newman, “and yet this resolution takes that tool away.”

The language for the November ballots reads, “Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to include a declaration that the right to keep and bear arms is an unalienable right and that the state government is obligated to uphold that right?”

Mother of slain boy from Sandy Hook Elementary urges Missouri parents, lawmakers to focus on mental health resources, not gun control (AUDIO)

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It’s been one year since the mass shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut killed 20 children and six educators. The mother of a little boy who was killed that day is asking parents in Missouri to work together to prevent gun violence.

Dylan Hockley 2Nicole Hockley spent the one-year anniversary of her son, Dylan’s, death at Sandy Hook Elementary in private with her family, but has been an outspoken voice in urging all parents to advocate for preventing gun violence. Hockley recognizes that the Missouri legislature and many residents staunchly protect their right to bear arms, and says she’s not out to change that.

She stresses that her group, Sandy Hook Promise, is not supportive of taking guns or gun rights from law-abiding citizens. She notes that gun culture is deeply rooted in Missouri, and says that’s a common thread from state to state.

“Gun culture is deeply rooted across America,” she said. “At Sandy Hook Promise, we don’t support bans, we’re not interested in confiscation, and we don’t consider ourselves a gun control group. Our hope is to educate and empower parents and adults across the country to help implement solutions in their own communities that can prevent gun violence in the future. That’s in the areas of mental wellness, community connectedness, parenting and gun safety. There’s a lot that can be done just at the community level to prevent an act of violence from happening, that doesn’t require legislation.”

Although media attention focused on failed efforts to pass federal legislation to expand background checks for gun purchases, Hockley said that has always been just a part of the group’s efforts.

“Legislation isn’t the one and only answer,” she said. “We’ve been stuck in this polarized action for far too long. For several decades, nothing’s moved forward. Instead of focusing on our differences, on our politics, or our faith, or our geography, we need to focus on where we have similarities. That’s in the love that we have for our children and the desire for their well-being and safety first and above everything else.”

Dylan Hockley 3Saturday, Dec. 14, was the one year anniversary of the mass shooting in Newtown, Conn. Hockley said she spent the day as she has for every day during the past year — mourning the death of her son Dylan, who will forever be 6 years old to her.

However, she feels that to go on and mark a difference Dylan made in the world is to unite parents and policy makers in moving forward for positive change.

“It’s all about making change happen and making something positive come from this,” she said. “If it was just a senseless tragedy, I don’t know if I could live with that.”

Nicole Hockley is asking parents and lawmakers to change the conversation and agree to join Sandy Hook Promise, a nonprofit formed by Newtown community members and surviving parents and spouses to help the community through the atrocity and to prevent the causes of gun violence.

In the first phase of the initiative, Parent Together is asking people to make “the Sandy Hook Promise” by signing up on a Web site and pledging to join other parents to encourage and support sensible solutions that help prevent gun violence in our communities and our country.”

At the turn of the new year, Parent Together will roll out programs to help people take action in their schools and communities in the areas of mental wellness, community connectedness, parenting and gun safety. One of the programs will encourage pediatricians to use a simple diagnostic screener to assess the mental wellness of their patients. The idea is to bring a preventive approach to mental health issues in the same way it is used for physical health issues.

“That’s a simple thing we can start at an earlier stage to help our children ensure that their minds develop as healthily as their bodies develop,” Hockley said.

Hockley also spoke out on the recent release of the distress calls to 911 as the mass shooting was taking place at Sandy Hook. She says she’ll be doing the best she can to protect herself, her family and other victims’ families from having to hear them.

AUDIO: Jessica Machetta reports (:63)

AUDIO: Listen to the entire interview (10:45)

 

Senate leader releases draft of new gun legislation

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The legislature failed to override Governor Jay Nixon’s veto of a controversial gun bill. Now Senate Republican leaders who helped uphold that veto have made good on a promise to offer an alternative.

Senator Ron Richard

Senator Ron Richard

Senate Majority Floor Leader Ron Richard (R-Joplin) has unveiled a draft of a bill that seeks to void in Missouri federal laws that “infringe on the people’s right to keep and bear arms.” The primary differences between it and its predecessor, HB 436, are that it would not make it a crime to enforce certain federal gun laws in Missouri, or to publish the names of gun owners.

Richard says, “The intent of the bill is exactly the same. We’re just trying to make it constitutional so we can get past a court challenge.”

Richard wants the bill to be a bill to reaffirm the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in Missouri, and to give Missouri authority over the federal government when it comes to gun laws. He says he is making good on a promise to release draft language at least a month before pre-filing begins to allow people to provide feedback and suggest changes.

“We’ve tried to make it firmer on the Tenth Amendment, the overriding premise being that the federal government is usurping state’s rights.”

Richard says law enforcement expressed concerns to him that the draft’s predecessor interfered with their ability to perform their job.

“We felt, and public safety officials felt, that local authorities weren’t able (under that bill) to cooperate with federal authorities on the bad guys when it had to do with guns, and we got language (for this new draft) from the Missouri Sheriffs’ Association that helps that.”

The bill would require a local sheriff be notified before a federal warrant can be served in his jurisdiction. That requirement could be waived in cases of national security or when a sheriff is believed to have violated confidentiality in the issuance of warrants.

The bill does not specify what federal laws it would invalidate in Missouri. Rather, it says it would apply to certain taxes, registration and tracking requirements, prohibitions on the possession, ownership, use or transfer of a specific type of firearm and confiscation orders.

It would allow for the creation of school protection officers; teachers or administrators designated by a district that would be authorized to carry a concealed firearm. It lays out how such a designation can be made and how training for such officers should be developed.

The sponsor of HB 436, Representative Doug Funderburk (R-St. Peters) says the idea of barring the publishing of gun owners’ names has not been abandoned.

“The issue of publishing lists or publishing names is one we’re going to have to work on separately and try to figure out what is the right balance … the language that protects the publishing of overall lists but doesn’t limit anyone’s right, not just the media, but anyone’s right to the First Amendment. That’s still a work in progress.”

Funderburk says he thinks this bill keeps the most important provisions and underlying goals of his bill, and he wants to hear feedback.

He tells Missourinet, “I would like to hear back from the very same persons and people who were critical of the first bill.”

Richard says Senator Brian Nieves (R-Washington) will handle the bill and he has promised Nieves it will be the first one out of the gate.

“(Senate President Tom) Dempsey and I gave a commitment … it’ll be the first bill to committee and when I get the bill as Majority Leader it’ll be the first bill we handle in the Senate and we’ll spend time on it and get it to the House as quickly as we can, because if the Governor vetoes it again, we’ll be working toward overriding the veto during session.”

See the full language of the draft legislation here, and see a summary here.

UPDATE: House Democrats say NRA mum on gun bill facing veto override

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Democrats from the House of Representatives point out that the National Rifle Association has not weighed in on a bill that would prevent the federal government from enforcing certain restrictions on firearms in Missouri.

“While privately telling many Missouri lawmakers that their organization opposes efforts to override Gov. Jay Nixon’s veto of House Bill 436, officials with the National Rifle Association repeatedly have refused to take a public position on the blatantly unconstitutional pro-gun legislation,” a statement e-mailed by Democrat leadership says.

“Although NRA representatives testified in favor of numerous bills to expand gun rights that were heard by legislative committees this year, the organization didn’t testify on behalf of HB 436 or any of the similar bills before the General Assembly this year that seek to declare federal gun laws null and void in Missouri and that attempt to make it a crime to enforce those laws,” the statement continues. “According to several recent news reports on the bill in advance of the General Assembly’s Sept. 11 veto session, NRA officials either have failed to respond to reporters’ inquiries or declined to state the organization’s position on the bill.”

Kansas City Rep. John Rizzo is calling out the national gun lobby to take a stand on the issue.

“As the nation’s largest and most powerful gun-rights group, the NRA should tell Missourians where it stands on HB 436,” says Rizzo, who is the House Minority Whip. “If the NRA opposes the bill, as its representatives have privately said, then it should say so publicly. If the NRA supports shredding other provisions of the Constitution in the name of protecting the Second Amendment, as the bill would do, then it should have the courage of its convictions and say so rather than cowering in silence.”

The statement says provisions of HB 436 attempting to nullify federal law and criminalize law enforcement violate the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which holds that federal laws are superior to contradictory state laws.

“The bill also prohibits the publishing of the name of any gun owner for any reason in any context in violation of free speech and freedom of the press clauses of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the free speech provision of the Missouri Constitution, Article I, Section 8,” the statement concludes.