Bloomberg's gun groups claimed that this change would hurt safety in Missouri. Voters overwhelmingly rejected the claims. An explanation of the changes to the Missouri Constitution are available here at KFVS Channel 12:
Missourians voted to strengthen the state's gun rights law when they headed to the polls on Tuesday, Aug. 5. This ballot measure reads as follows:"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?"Currently, the U.S. Constitution grants American's the ability to keep and bear arms.
Missouri state law also protects that right.
Essentially, voters were asked to decide if this right to keep and carry guns should be an "unalienable right" just like American's rights to life and liberty.
That would mean the right is impossible to take away and if it was challenged in court, this amendment would give Missourian's the highest level of legal protection.
Senator Kurt Schaefer, a supporter of the change, says if passed, Missouri would have the strongest gun rights in the country. . . .The St. Louis Post has this discussion of the outcome of the vote:
And Amendment 5, reitervating the U.S. Constitution’s right to bear arms, won by almost 2 to 1. . . .
The “right to bear arms” referendum (Amendment 5) will reiterate the U.S. Constitution’s similar guarantee, but with more specificity, making that right “inalienable.” Supporters argued it was needed because of attempts to restrict gun rights on the national level.
Opponents argued that it would be an unnecessary duplication of the federal Constitution’s Second Amendment and that it could impede enforcement of reasonable firearms restrictions.
After the vote, the group “Moms Demand Gun Sense in America” issued a statement warning: “Today Missouri voters approved a gun lobby-backed proposal that could gravely undermine public safety.” . . .
0 comments:
Post a Comment