8th Circuit decision is setback for 'constitutional sheriffs' movement, says gun-safety group
A federal appeals court has ruled for the U.S. Department of Justice in a challenge to a Missouri law that banned state and local officials from helping enforce some federal gun regulations. (Image from Shutterstock)
A federal appeals court has ruled for the U.S. Department of Justice in a challenge to a Missouri law that banned state and local officials from helping enforce some federal gun regulations.
The Missouri law, the Second Amendment Preservation Act, violates the supremacy clause, according to the Aug. 26 decision by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at St. Louis. The decision upheld a lower court ruling that blocked the state from enforcing the law.
The Missouri Independent, Reuters, the Kansas City Star and Bloomberg Law have coverage.
The law declared that certain gun regulations were invalid in Missouri and should not be recognized in the state. The invalid laws included ones imposing extra taxes on guns and ammunition, requiring gun registration and tracking, and banning gun possession and transfers by “law-abiding citizens” who are allowed to own guns under state laws.
The law authorized private citizens to enforce the law by suing state entities for alleged violations. Each violation was punishable by a $50,000 civil penalty.
The decision is a major win for gun safety and a significant setback for the “constitutional sheriffs” movement, according to an Aug. 26 press release by Everytown for Gun Safety, a group that supports gun safeguards. “Constitutional sheriffs” contend that their authority goes beyond enforcing the law to determining what the law is.
The state had argued that it could constitutionally withdraw assistance to federal law enforcement. But having the power to withhold assistance “does not mean that the state may do so by purporting to invalidate federal law,” the 8th Circuit said. The decision’s author was Chief Judge Steven Colloton, an appointee of former President George W. Bush.
Missouri had contended that the federal government lacked standing to sue because the law was enforced by private citizens filing lawsuits, rather than by state actors. The state also argued that the Missouri law was a constitutional exercise of state power.
The appeals court ruled that the United States has standing because the Missouri law led state officials to withdraw resources to help enforce federal law.
Turning to the state power argument, the 8th Circuit rejected the state’s contention that the reason for withholding assistance is immaterial.
The state’s assertion that certain federal laws are invalid in Missouri is inconsistent with the letter and spirit of the Constitution, the appeals court said.
“If the state prefers as a matter of policy to discontinue assistance with the enforcement of valid federal firearms laws, then it may do so by other means that are lawful and assume political accountability for that decision,” Colloton wrote.
The U.S. Supreme Court had denied an emergency request to reinstate the law in October 2023.
