Missouri’s Bizarre Second Amendment Law Is Going to the Supreme Court

The case centers on the Second Amendment Preservation Act, or SAPA. Missouri lawmakers first passed it in 2021 in response to what its proponents described as federal overreach. Representative Jered Taylor, who introduced the bill, compared the measure to other areas of the law where states can decline to help the federal government carry out its policy goals.

“The feds use us,” Taylor told a public radio station in St. Louis in 2021. “They rely on us to enforce their laws. Look at medical marijuana in the state of Missouri. This is exactly what we do with that. It’s exactly what sanctuary cities use.” The law said that almost any federal restrictions on gun ownership or possession “shall be considered infringements on the people’s right to keep and bear arms” within Missouri’s borders.

Those restrictions include any “registration or tracking” of “firearms, firearm accessories, or ammunition,” as well any registration or tracking of their “law-abiding” owners. They also include “any tax, levy, fee, or stamp imposed” upon guns, accessories, or ammunition, aside from generally applicable sales taxes. Finally, they cover any law or regulation that orders the “confiscation” of any guns, accessories, or ammunition.