JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The U.S. Department of Justice has sued Missouri in federal court, seeking to overturn the state’s Second Amendment law that prohibits local police from helping enforce certain federal gun restrictions.
It is the first direct legal action by the Biden administration against the state for the Second Amendment Preservation Act (SAPA) that was passed last year. In a separate case pending before the Missouri Supreme Court, the federal government joined a suit brought by local governments, including Jackson County, urging that SAPA be halted.
In Wednesday’s suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, the Justice Department argues SAPA is unconstitutional and “severely impairs federal criminal law enforcement operations” to fight gun crime in Missouri.
