Missouri House Passes Guernsey Bill, Three Others Combating Outside Encroachment

The Missouri House passed four bills combating what they see as outside encroachment, including one written and passed by State Representative Casey Guernsey of Bethany. Jerry Drake sent a letter to local legislators Guernsey, Mike Thomson, and Senator Brad Lager asking if they had voted for three bills that were attacked by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial Board. They were House Bill 436, Senate Bill 267, and Senate Bill 265. Drake's letter reads as follows:

Gentlemen:
Enclosed is an editorial from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch dated May 10, 2013. I am a member of the Sheridan Express newspaper cooperative and intend to submit it to the editor of the newspaper with the suggestion that it be published in the edition of May 22, 2013. He will be interested in knowing if you voted for any of the three bills cited in the article (HB 436, SB 267, SB 265). 

Yours Truly,
Jerry Drake.

As of Monday, May 20th, Casey Guernsey wrote back a handwritten note as follows:
Yes, I voted for all three and will do so every time. In addition, I sponsored, wrote, introduced, and passed HB 170. I'll stand by the Constitution every day.

Guernsey attached a copy of a summary of HB 170.

Information about the following three bills was taken from the House and Senate websites.

House Bill 436 is known as the Second Amendment Preservation Act. It rejects all federal acts which infringe on Missouri citizens' rights under the Second Amendment of the Constitution.

Senate Bill 265 prohibits the state and any political subdivision from implementing any policy recommendations that infringe on private property rights without due process and are traceable to Agenda 21 adopted in 1992 by the United Nations or any other international law or ancillary plan of action that contravenes the federal or state constitutions. In addition, this act prohibits the state and any political subdivision from entering into an agreement with, expending any money for, receiving funds from, contracting services from, or giving financial aid to any organization accredited and enlisted by the United Nations to assist in the implementation of Agenda 21.

Agenda 21 is a voluntary UN action plan relating to combating poverty, conservation and management of resources for development, and strengthening the role of children, youth, women, indigenous peoples, and farmers. The US is a signatory; the action plan has been in existence since 1992. But since it is a voluntary action plan and not a treaty, the US Senate never voted on ratification and it is not legally binding.

Senate Bill 267 is the Civil Liberties Defense Act. It mandates that any court, arbitration, tribunal, or administrative agency ruling is unenforceable if based on a foreign law which is repugnant or inconsistent with the Missouri or US Constitution. It makes contract provisions that choose to apply a foreign law to contractual disputes void and unenforceable in Missouri if it is repugnant or inconsistent with the Missouri or US Constitutions.

House Bill 170 by Guernsey, according to the summary sheet provided by Guernsey, relates to firearms laws and enforcement. It changes the age that a person can be issued a concealed carry endorsement from 21 years to 19 years. It also specifies that it shall be unlawful for any officer or employee of the state, any political subdivision, or any licensed federal firearms dealer to enforce or attempt to enforce any federal act, law, statute, rule, or regulation relating to a personal firearm, firearm accessory, or ammunition that is owned or manufactured commercially or privately in the state that remains exclusively within the boundaries of the state. It makes it a felony for any federal official, agent, or employee to attempt to enforce any federal act, order, law, statute, rule, or regulation created on or effective on or after January 1, 2013. It also declares any federal law, rule or regulation created on or effective on after January 1, 2013 unenforceable if it attempts to ban or restrict ownership of a semi-automatic firearm or any magazine of a firearm accessory or requires any such item to be registered in any manner.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorial board said in the headline of their May 10th editorial that the House had won the "triple crown" of "right-wing porn;" below it, they ran a picture of Republican legislator Brian Nieves (R-Washington) brandishing a gun. The Post-Dispatch argued that House Bill 436 would be ruled unconstitutional on multiple grounds and would seek to nullify even the 1938 Federal Firearms Act, which makes it illegal for criminals to transport weapons across state lines. The Dispatch editorial said that Senate Bill 267, while never specifically mentioning it, notes that it was directed against the possible application of Sharia law.

The Post-Dispatch accused the House of focusing on stuff like Agenda 21 which does not have the power of law in the US while ignoring stuff like education reform. "But speaker Tim Jones didn't bother to start the education discussion until after taking meaningless votes on fantasy bills that will never have any effect on a single job or constitutional right for any Missourian, ever," said the editorial.

The laws in question are aimed at curbing what Missouri legislators see as increasing federal and foreign encroachment on Missouri sovereignty. Nullification as a political weapon died out following the Civil War. However, state legislatures have revived it as a weapon to combat what they see as excessive federal and foreign encroachment on state sovereignty. A bill similar to the one passed by Guernsey passed the state of Kansas as well. It is now the target of a major court battle between the Justice Department and the State of Kansas.