Missouri Lawmakers Advance Bill Allowing Adults to Give Children Guns Without Parental Consent

Regardless of how one feels about the subject of gun laws and regulation, a reasonable person would have to admit that certain proposed pro-Second Amendment policies are just plain reckless. For example, Missouri lawmakers recently advanced a bill that would make it legal for an adult to give a gun to a child so long as the adult isn’t passing the gun off to hide a crime they committed.

From The Hill:

The GOP-controlled Missouri House on Tuesday advanced a bill that would make it legal to give guns to children without their parents’ permission.

The bill comes after Gov. Mike Parson (R) called lawmakers back for a special summer session on crime and asked the legislature to penalize criminals who unlawfully use firearms, then pass them off on children to avoid detection.

The legislation is the exact opposite of what Parson called for, according to The Associated Press.

It is currently a misdemeanor crime to “recklessly” give a child a gun without their parents’ permission.

On Tuesday, the state House voted to toss out the existing law and only make it a felony to give firearms to minors if the intent is to avoid arrest or criminal investigation.

According to Republican state Rep. Dean Plocher, the change in policy is meant to ensure that “those that are trying to help their grandson go hunting or something like that are not going to be wantonly charged with a crime.”

First of all: In the world of white people white peopleing, is it a common thing for people to give their grandchild a gun without the expressed consent of the child’s parents? Secondly: How is it that these lawmakers can imagine this weird ass scenario, but can’t imagine all the things that can go wrong by making it legal for adults to give children guns without parental consent?

What if an adult hands a child a gun, not because they committed a crime they’re trying to get away with, but because...oh, I don’t know...AMERICANS ARE FUCKING OBSESSED WITH GUNS?

What if some Proud Boy hands a neighborhood kid a gun just for his own amusement or because he believes every red-blooded American (code for “white people, of course) should be carrying regardless of age because it’s their God-given right? (For some reason conservatives think the U.S. Constitution was written by God. I never could figure that one out.)

The point is, Missouri Republicans have advanced a bill that goes out of its way to ignore all potential negative consequences with the exception of the relatively far fetched scenario where a person uses a child to stash a firearm they used in a criminal act. This isn’t to say that the scenario couldn’t happen, I’m just saying it seems like these lawmakers are cherry-picking one episode of Law & Order while pretending the rest of the series never aired.

Democratic state Rep. Peter Merideth went with more of a common-sense argument.

“We’re making it easier for people to let kids play with guns without the consent of parents,” Merideth said. Democratic lawmakers argued that the bill generally takes control away from parents.

Merideth pushed for an amendment to the bill that would, at the very least, still make it a misdemeanor to give guns to children without permission. That amendment was struck down by a 94-41 vote.

The lawmakers also voted to end the requirement that police in St. Louis live in the city.

 The subject of police officers living in the communities they police has long been a thing Black people have argued in favor of because of the belief that cops are more likely to behave aggressively when dealing with people in communities they are strangers to—particularly in Black neighborhoods. But Missouri Republicans argued that requirement only hurts police recruiting efforts.

According to the Associated Press, the issue will still be on the ballot for St. Louis voters in November, but even if voters want to keep the residency law in place, their votes will be overturned by the state bill.

As for the bill allowing adults to give guns to children, it will need another vote of approval before it is sent to the state Senate for consideration, AP reports.