ST. LOUIS — Critics are pushing back against gun control legislation to be considered in the City of St. Louis. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey claims the proposed laws supported by St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones are 'unconstitutional.'
The Bailey announced on Twitter Wednesday that his office put the mayor on 'notice.' Bailey is not the only person speaking out. He said the proposed gun legislation violates the Missouri Constitution.
Other state Republican leaders are speaking out. They also said they believe stricter gun laws aren't the answer to deterring violence in the city. Bailey said the legislation would violate Missourian's constitutional right to keep and bear arms.
"St. Louis has enough problems. We don't need the mayor trying to violate the Constitution," he said.
Less than 24 hours after Mayor Jones announced new action on gun safety legislation, Bailey fought back.
"This is a major tourist destination for the people of Missouri and so she's not going to be allowed to violate the state Constitution to enact a radical agenda," he said.
Bailey claims the mayor's proposed laws would violate the Second Amendment.
Mayor Jones introduced these proposals Tuesday during a gun violence roundtable. During that discussion, Mayor Jones announced she was working with city aldermen to introduce several new gun safety measures in the coming days.
The anticipated legislation includes:
- Prohibit military-grade weapons on city streets.
- Prevent the transfer or sale of guns to minors.
- Take action on 'ghost guns' and similar untraceable firearms.
- Prepare St. Louis for the passage of Blair's Law, which would elevate charges for celebratory gunfire.
- Prohibit insurrectionists and those convicted of hate crimes from having guns.
"We're coming together around a shared vision. A safer, stronger St. Louis that's ready to stand up for our values," Mayor Jones said Tuesday.
State Sen. Nick Schroer said he was 'dumbfounded' by the announcement.
He cited a story 5 On Your Side did back in July that exposed Mayor Jones' text messages (obtained by an open records request) showing her arguing community investment does more to prevent crime than strict gun laws.
"Just a couple of months ago, it was when she said gun control doesn't work and here we are rolling out something that on its face is blatantly unconstitutional and it doesn't work," Schroer said.
Schroer said he believes the gun control legislation will only get tied up in court and the solution lies in manpower and enforcement.
"That's where this is going to be solved, is putting more police on the ground to work with the community to stop crime at the very start of it," Schroer said.
Bailey said he is calling on the mayor to 'cease and desist' and that he's ready to defend the rights of the law because Missourians have a right to defend themselves.
"Article 1, Section 23 of the Missouri Constitution creates a ceiling on those rights and also gives authority to the General Assembly, and the General Assembly has preempted what the mayor is trying to do, so it's unconstitutional for her to move forward on that, that proposal, and we wanted to make sure she understood that before taking an unconstitutional act," he said.
Bailey said he would wait and see what is passed before he decides to take any legal action.
A new bill was recently passed in the City of St. Louis to regulate open-carry weapons.
5 On Your Side asked Bailey why he didn't speak out against that legislation but is so vocal about the new proposed laws. He responded and said the open-carry bill wasn't unconstitutional, but this new legislation is.