The Second Amendment Preservation Act, commonly known as SAPA, was struck down by U.S. District Judge Brian Wimes on March 7.
SAPA, sponsored by then-State Rep. Eric Burlison, effectively nullified some federal gun statutes in Missouri, citing that certain statutes exceeded the scope of the federal government’s authority.
After going into effect in August 2021, SAPA was the target of multiple lawsuits filed in state courts and federal courts. In February 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a suit against Missouri from enforcing House Bill 85 (SAPA).
On his private Twitter account, Burlison, a Republican who was elected to the U.S. House in November, said that “states can not be forced to be the enforcement of federal laws” and that he fully anticipated this ruling by Wimes.
SAPA ‘unconstitutional in its entirety’
In Wimes’ judgment on the case, he said that SAPA was “unconstitutional in its entirety,” and that it violated the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which gives federal laws priority over conflicting state laws.
“SAPA’s practical effects are counterintuitive to its stated purpose,” the summary judgment from Wimes’ reads. “While purporting to protect citizens, SAPA exposes citizens to greater harm by interfering with the Federal Government’s ability to enforce lawfully enacted firearms regulations designed by Congress for the purpose of protecting citizens within the limits of the Constitution.”
Wimes also said that, under threat of SAPA’s penalties, it hampered law enforcement in their ability to participate in joint federal task forces, work in investigations on federal firearms crimes and fully disclose information to the federal government.
It also opened law enforcement agencies up to a $50,000 civil fine if they were found to have infringed on someone’s Second Amendment rights.
Springfield Police Chief Paul Williams said that SPD didn’t change how they operated when SAPA initially became law, therefore Judge Wimes’ ruling would not impact their day-to-day operations either.
Even as some law enforcement agencies around the state took preemptive measures to avoid potential lawsuits, Williams wasn’t concerned because SPD doesn’t “take guns away from rightful gun owners, or infringe on the rights of law abiding citizens.”
“I looked at it as it was a law that was written in case something happened,” Williams told the Daily Citizen. “Kind of if the federal government imposes some new legislation that hampers our citizens' right to own firearms or whatever, then this would take effect.”
Over the course of its time as law, Williams said that SPD did not face any lawsuits or civil penalties, and they continued cooperating with federal law enforcement agencies.
Despite SAPA not affecting SPD, Williams said he wasn’t surprised by the ruling and thinks it could help other law enforcement agencies around the state to resume some operations they may have stalled out of fear of prosecution.
“I think it removes that obstacle for a lot of agencies that [said] ‘we can't do this because we don't know, we don't want to put ourselves at risk,’” he said. “…It’s a good thing that other agencies might follow our lead and go back to doing things as we always have with different levels of law enforcement cooperating with each other to combat violent crime and take guns away from criminals.”
An attempt to get comments on the federal court ruling from Greene County Sheriff Jim Arnott were unsuccessful.
In the past, some law enforcement officials and municipalities have raised concerns of the impact SAPA could have on law enforcement’s ability to carry out certain duties, in fear of prosecution.
Burlison, MO Attorney General react to Wimes’ decision
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced that he intends to appeal the decision, and anticipates a “better result” in the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
In a statement, he defended SAPA’s importance in protecting both the Second Amendment and the Tenth Amendment, which says that powers not delegated to the U.S. in the Constitution are reserved for the states or the people.
Burlison, now a U.S. Congressman representing Missouri’s 7th District, made this statement on the decision:
“As the sponsor of the Second Amendment Preservation Act, I am disappointed but not surprised by the decision from an Obama-appointed, district court judge to unilaterally strike down a pro-Second Amendment law.
“The State of Missouri, not a federal judge, should determine how it spends its resources. That’s what SAPA does. I fully support Attorney General Bailey’s announcement to appeal this decision. I will continue to fight to protect Americans’ constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms, just like I did in the Missouri State Legislature.”
