Friday night, the 2017 legislative session came to a close here in Jefferson City.
Sadly, despite months of work from grassroots gun owners like you and me, so–called “Gun Free Zones” remain the law here in Missouri.
Thanks to all of your calls, emails, trips to the capitol, and Facebook messages –- we were able to advance House Bill 630 through three separate House committees.
However, the House leadership team refused to bring the matter up for a floor vote.
This means that for yet another year, whether you carry a defensive firearm with or without a permit, you are still required to disarm yourself in dozens of locations here in Missouri.
This includes places like churches, college campuses, sporting arenas, hospitals, mass transportation systems, and many more.
Of course, as we all know, it is places just like this that mass–killers go to try to rack up a body count.
While we made tremendous progress in our fight to advance the Second Amendment last year with the passage of Constitutional Carry and Stand–Your–Ground, much work remains to be done.
Some gun owners in Missouri naïvely assume that because we live in this great state, gun-control activists have no impact in Jefferson City.
But that would be a mistake.
At every step in the legislative process this year, at every committee hearing, NYC billionaire Michael Bloomberg’s activists were there in force.
Many times our Political Director, Alexandra Salsman, was outnumbered 10 to 1 as she offered critical pro–gun testimony and delivered your signed petitions!
While we may have beaten Bloomberg in 2016, he is not giving up on the “Show Me State” and it is crucial that Second Amendment supporters like you remain vigilant.
One of the ways you can do that is by attending the upcoming Political Leadership School being offered by the Missouri Firearms Coalition next month in Springfield!
For more information on this training seminar, see the alert we put out on this last week.
In the meantime, please help us replenish our supply of signed petitions in support of ending these so-called “Gun Free Zones!”
We delivered your petitions to legislators in Jefferson City this session during the various committee hearings, and we need to replenish our supply for next session.
I hope you will also help us spread the word about the Missouri Firearms Coalition.
It is essential that we grow our grassroots army, to ensure successful passage of this legislation in 2018!
Next year is an election year, and the politicians in Jefferson City will not want to return to their districts hat in hand, not having passed a gun bill.
So while they may have defeated gun owners this year, next year will be a major opportunity for us. And that’s why we need all hands on deck!
In the coming weeks, we will be announcing some exciting giveaways, as well as giving you the opportunity to join or renew your membership and obtain a free T-Shirt!
For now, I want to thank you for all of your activism this session.
At every point in this process, committee members reported to us that they were being flooded with calls and emails from gun owners, insisting that they support this legislation!
Many people talk about defending the Second Amendment, about their frustration with politicians in general, but rarely take any action in defense of their freedoms.
The members of the Missouri Firearms Coalition are different, and for that, I sincerely thank you.
Dr. Curt Frazier
Chairman of the Board
P.S. Late Friday night, the 2017 legislative session adjourned for the year here in Jefferson City.
Despite gun owners having advanced House Bill 630 through three separate House committees, the House leadership team refused to put this bill on the floor for a full vote!
This means that for another year, you and I will be left defenseless in dozens of so-called “Gun Free Zones,” whether we carry with or without a permit.
This, despite the fact that, as everyone knows, violent criminals almost always target these types of areas for mass shootings –– since they know the likelihood of armed resistance is virtually zero.
Clearly gun owners have a lot of work to do in the continued fight for the Second Amendment.
That’s why I hope you’ll join us at the political leadership school that we will be offering in Springfield next month! To learn more about that, click the link here.
In the meantime, thank you for all of your activism during the 2017 session! While they may have defeated gun owners this year, next year is an election year, and things will be far different in Jefferson City!
