The St. Louis region is pushing back against a new state law that prohibits local police from working with federal investigators – in cases involving gun ownership rights.
Bill sponsors named it the Second Amendment Preservation Act, which among other things opens local law enforcement to be sued if they join in a federal effort, involving “violations of Second Amendment Rights.”
So one police chief in O’Fallon resigned saying it looks like the police can be sued for even “good faith justified seizures of firearms in emergencies.”
St. Louis and St Louis County are now taking the law to court, saying it prevents law enforcement from doing their jobs. This is a region that welcomed federal and state help with a wave of violent crime last year. They are asking courts to block the law and to consider if it violates federal law pre-empting state law.
Because the language is vague enough to welcome interpretations: Both sides of the bill argue it means different things- so the courts will have to decide.
