Court Overturns Missouri Law Banning Police From Enforcing Gun Laws

A federal court overturned a Missouri law this week banning police from enforcing some gun laws in the state.

On Monday, the Associated Press (AP) reported that the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against a Missouri law saying that it violated the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution, which says that federal law trumps state law.

“A State cannot invalidate federal law to itself,” 8th Circuit Chief Judge Steven Colloton wrote in the ruling.

“The Supremacy Clause states that federal law is “the supreme law of the land…any thing in the Constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding,” the ruling said. “By this declaration, the states are prohibited from passing any acts which shall be repugnant to a law of the United States.”

The Missouri law in question prohibited police in the state from enforcing federal gun laws that did not have a state law equivalent. Law enforcement agencies with officers who knowingly enforced federal gun laws without corresponding state laws faced a $50,000 fine per violating officer.

In a statement following the ruling, Missouri Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey said, “I will always fight for Missourians’ Second Amendment rights.”

Bailey also said his office was planning to review the judge’s ruling.

Federal laws not mirrored by Missouri statutes include regulations on weapons registration and tracking, as well as restrictions on firearm possession for certain domestic violence offenders.

The law which was overturned this week had been held up since 2023 when it was temporarily blocked by the U.S. Supreme Court amid legal challenges in lower courts.

Missouri’s law sparked conflict that dismantled a crime-fighting partnership with U.S. attorneys, a collaboration former Republican Attorney General Eric Schmitt—now a U.S. senator—championed for years. Under Schmitt’s Safer Streets Initiative, attorneys from his office were deputized as assistant U.S. attorneys to aid in prosecuting violent crimes.

The Justice Department reported that following the law’s implementation, Missouri’s state crime lab—run by the Highway Patrol—refused to process evidence that could assist in federal firearms prosecutions.

Republican lawmakers who backed the bill said their motivation stemmed from concerns over potential new gun restrictions under Democratic President Joe Biden, who had signed the most significant gun violence legislation in decades.

The federal law strengthened background checks for younger gun buyers, expanded restrictions on firearm ownership for domestic violence offenders and provided support for states to implement red flag laws, allowing authorities to more easily remove weapons from individuals deemed dangerous.