State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Late Tuesday night, a gun bill prized by Missouri Republicans may have received a stealthy poison pill: An amendment backed by Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, and accepted by the Republican majority.
The Missouri Senate quietly adopted an amendment to Sen. Brian Nieves gun nullification bill that would allow a 72-hour reporting period for lost and stolen guns. Similar legislation has been broadly opposed by groups like the National Rifle Association.
On Wednesday, some Senators were reportedly contacted by the organization urging them to oppose the bill. Republican Senators huddled in private and did not go back into session on Wednesday while Senate leaders mulled their options.
The entire bill, which received first-round approval Tuesday night, would aim to nullify federal gun rules and make it a crime for federal law enforcement officials to enforce those laws. Similar legislation was vetoed last session by Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon, and a veto override attempt was blocked by Senate leaders Tom Dempsey, R-St. Charles, and Ron Richard, R-Joplin, after Missouri law enforcement officials raised concerns about safety and the Missouri Press Association raised concerns about an apparent freedom of the press issue.
Sen. Brian Nieves, R-Washington, the bill’s sponsor for the second year in a row, said he still feels good about his bill.
“Every time there’s an amendment added to a bill, it changes the dynamic,” he said. “I can live with (Nasheed’s amendment). I wouldn’t raise it on a flagpole and say it is the greatest thing I’ve ever seen, but I can live with it.”
Nieves said he had not heard from the NRA on the issue, and that it would not matter to him anyway. He said he is comfortable that the bill is constitutional and would withstand a court challenge, despite the federal Supremacy Clause that allows federal laws to trump state laws.
Speaking to reporters, Nasheed said she had no intention of killing the bill with her amendment. She attached a “severability clause”, in part, assuming the bill would pass. The clause would allow the reporting provision to stand even if the bill was overturned by a court, which she and other opponents believe it would be.