A federal judge has ruled Missouri's gun-rights law from two years ago to be unconstitutional.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes determined that Missouri's 2021 gun law — which made it illegal for state or local officials to cooperate with federal agents when enforcing orders, rules, or laws that go against the Second Amendment — violated the so-called "supremacy clause" of the U.S. Constitution, which maintains that federal laws take priority over state laws.
Also, Wimes reasoned Missouri's gun law was actually counterintuitive to its intended purpose.
"While purporting to protect citizens," Wimes wrote in his 24-page opinion, the law "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."
The federal government, according to The Washington Post, sued the state last year and subsequently argued that Missouri's law would hurt criminal investigations.
The 2021 legislation, or "Second Amendment Preservation Act," also gave Missouri residents the right to sue local police departments — for up to $50,000 — if the law enforcement groups prevented a citizen's right to bear arms.
In his decision, Judge Wimes also wrote the Missouri law was "invalid, null, void, and of no effect."
As such, state and local law enforcement can now share information with the federal government "without fear of being penalized by the law," the Post reports.
However, the consequence may be temporary, since Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has already stated his intention to appeal Wimes' ruling.
"We are prepared to defend this statute to the highest court and we anticipate a better result at the Eighth Circuit," Bailey said in a statement.
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