Friend,
We have a major development to report regarding SAPA law!
As you know, we always said that Biden’s Department of Injustice would fight to overturn Missouri’s Second Amendment Preservation Act (SAPA) in court. They have no choice.
Afterall, SAPA law has crushed Biden’s gun control agenda here in Missouri because it denies him access to Missouri cops.
So when the Obama-appointed District Court judge in KC ruled against SAPA last year, that was not a surprise.
In the Federal Court system, District Court is the lowest court. Next comes Federal Circuit Court. Next comes the United States Supreme Court (if the court chooses to hear the case.)
Make no mistake, MOFC has always expected to take the fight for SAPA all the way into the United States Supreme Court!
But first we need to get through the 8th Circuit Court.
That’s why I’m happy to announce that the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals will be hearing oral arguments on Missouri’s Second Amendment Preservation Act NEXT MONTH!
This is fantastic!
Why?
It’s simple: if the 8th Circuit upholds SAPA, gun owners will be protected here in Missouri and the road will be paved for other red states! If we lose, we’ve checked the box needed to bring the SAPA fight into the United States Supreme Court!
But MOFC’s legal defense fund is running low, and it’s critical that we can afford to pay for the important Amicus Brief that our lawyers are working on in this case.
That’s why I am emailing you today.
It is urgent that the Missouri Firearms Coalition raise $25,000 in the next 10 days, to make sure we can fully fund our legal defense budget in time!
But first, let me remind you how we got here and what’s at stake for gun owners here in Missouri (and the country) if we lose this fight.
The day after Joe Biden ‘won’ the 2020 Presidential Election, I called an emergency meeting of MOFC’s political team to discuss what we could do to defend the Second Amendment here in Missouri.
We knew we would soon be in the fight of our lives.
And while the fight is still raging to stop Biden’s federal gun control agenda, our team immediately agreed that passing the Second Amendment Preservation Act was OUR TOP PRIORITY in 2021!
You see, we didn’t know in late 2020 whether or not Biden would have the votes to ban AR-15s, mandate a national ‘Red Flag’ law, or institute Universal Background Checks. But we knew that he expected Missouri cops to enforce whatever he did pass.
And we knew that if we could pass SAPA in time, it would destroy Biden’s ability to enforce his gun control agenda here.
- That’s because Missouri’s SAPA law:Instructs Missouri cops to only enforce Missouri’s gun laws, meaning that if Biden wants his gun control agenda enforced here, he’ll need to use federal agents to do it!
- Contains a $50,000 civil penalty against agencies that violate SAPA, ensuring that St. Louis and Kansas City would not be able to ignore it and continue enforcing federal gun control.
- Does not require the Governor or the Attorney General to enforce a violation of SAPA. Missourians are able to bring civil charges against an agency that violates SAPA!
We knew that if we passed our version of SAPA, Biden’s gun control agenda would die here in Missouri! Because while Biden could have feds enforce federal gun control laws here, that just wouldn’t happen for political reasons.
And that’s why we knew we would be headed to court.
Biden’s team knows that if SAPA stands here in Missouri, it’ll spread all over the country. And that’s exactly what’s happening in states like Iowa, Ohio, Georgia, Wyoming and more!
So first the DOJ tried to overturn SAPA law in a Jackson Co. Circuit Court case. St. Louis and Kansas City, predictably, joined. But Biden’s team of lawyers lost there…badly.
In early 2022 the DOJ tried again, this time before the Missouri State Supreme Court. While the court remanded the case back to the Circuit Court for procedural reasons, the judges did not agree with Biden’s lawyers, hammering them with questions.
Desperate, the DOJ filed their case in Missouri’s Western District Federal Court…knowing the Judge was very liberal.
Judge Wimes was so hostile when oral arguments were held in court that I almost started laughing. A kangaroo court for sure.
So when Wimes issued his opinion condemning SAPA, it wasn’t a surprise. In fact, when our legal team began reading his written decision, they were immediately relieved.
You see, Wimes simply “rage-ruled.” He let his partisan hatred of the Second Amendment get the best of him. It came out in everything he wrote…and in what he did not write.
Wimes didn’t interact with the Anti-Commandeering Doctrine. In fact, he didn’t even mention it, even though it’s the historical and constitutional basis of Missouri’s SAPA law!
But that wasn’t the only thing Wimes ‘forgot.’
Wimes barley referenced the Supreme Court’s 1997 Printz v United States case, which is an almost identical case where Arizona sheriffs refused to enforce Bill Clinton’s gun control laws.
And Wimes refused to talk about the Supreme Court’s 1842 Prigg v. Pennsylvania case, a foundational case that upheld the states’ right to ignore federal laws they disagreed with.
Our lawyers are excited.
By refusing to interact with the constitutional foundation of SAPA and the voluminous amount of Supreme Court caselaw that backs it up, Wimes left the door wide open for a successful appeal before the 8th Circuit!
Some of you have asked about the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on SAPA. Rest assured, that was only a procedural issue on whether or not SAPA is still in effect during the appeal process. It was NOT a merits-based decision.
In fact, Justice Clarence Thomas said he would uphold SAPA. And Justices Kavanaugh and Gorsuch made favorable comments, too.
So we are perfectly primed to move forward!
But now I need to ask for your help. I need to know that we can write the check and pay for this Amicus Brief.
I know you’ve given, repeatedly, to the SAPA fight.
Your previous support allowed us to pass SAPA, defend it before the State Supreme Court, make sure it wasn’t repealed by RINOs in 2022, and fight for it in federal court.
But we can’t stop now! We must fight in the 8th Circuit!
No one else is going to fight for us.
It’s up to you and me. But the truth is that it has always been that way! MOFC members passed SAPA in 2021. We defended it in court in 2022. Now we need to do it in the 8th Circuit, too!
So if $100 isn’t possible, please consider $75, $50, $25 or whatever you can afford.
Our grandkids’ future is on the line. If SAPA is upheld, Missouri will remain free from Biden’s tyranny. If not, it won’t matter how many gun bills we pass in Jeff City, our cops will be stuck enforcing Biden’s gun control!
Stand with us again. Make a generous donation TODAY!
For Missouri,
Aaron Dorr
Political Director
Missouri Firearms Coalition
P.S. SAPA is headed to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals NEXT MONTH! Please agree to a gift of $100, $75, $50, $25 or at least $17.76 so we can pay for our Amicus Brief and fight for you in court!