As you are reading this letter, legislators are moving into their apartments or long-term hotels in Jeff City, gearing up for the kickoff of the 2025 legislative session.
Sessions begins on January 8; just a few days away.
With Republicans having massive majorities in the House and Senate (and a mandate from the voters clearly conveyed on November 5) this is our year to MASH THE GAS PEDAL TO THE FLOOR!
There’s a lot that we need to do to solidify and strengthen our gun rights, and this is the best time to do it in years.
We’ve got endless opportunities in Jefferson City.
But we also need to press our advantage in Congress, and help President Trump pass National Reciprocity, a bill he said he would happily sign IF Congress puts it on his desk.
After four of years of fighting to hold the line against Joe Biden, I want to engage MOFC in as many fights as possible.
But I need to be realistic.
Having spent so much money on the primary and general election (which was wildly successful), and after we spent so much on federal programs blocking Biden, we cannot afford to engage in all of these fights at the same time.
In the wake of our general election program, and as part of gearing up for 2025, our team has been reviewing our budget.
(This is the only part of my job that I don’t like.) 🙂
Now that we’ve had our budget meeting (and know the updated political situation at a detailed level) we have some tough choices to make about the upcoming session.
But unlike many organizations that just tell their members what they want them to hear, this isn’t ‘my’ organization.
MOFC’s board has always understood that this is a member-driven organization and that we work for you! And that’s why we need to hear from you, right away.
Where do YOU want us to focus in 2025?
How do YOU want us to spend the donations you give us?
To get your feedback, I have prepared a special “2025 MOFC Members Only Ballot” and included it below. Please take a minute to read this, complete your ballot right away.
Without a doubt, the biggest opportunity we have in Congress in 2025 will be our chance to finally pass a National Reciprocity law.
H.R. 38 has been gaining ground for years.
It has hundreds of co-sponsors.
And it would simply let Missourians carry nationwide under the authority of our Missouri carry permit. It’s just like a driver’s license; wherever it’s issued, it’s good nationwide.
Without this law, we’re continually rolling the dice driving into Illinois or any other ‘blue’ state.
Yes, there are ‘peaceable journey’ laws.
But it so often doesn’t work that way in real life depending on the state you’re in and the officer you are dealing with. And when a gun owner is charged with this, it takes years to deal with it.
The good news is that President Trump has already put out a policy video telling the American people that he will sign this bill into law, IF Congress puts it on his desk.
But there are plenty of things that need to be done to increase Second Amendment freedom here in Missouri, too.
When we passed Stand-Your-Ground law in 2016 it was ok.
But the legal threats to gun owners have evolved over the last few years as blue city/state prosecutors try to throw gun owners in prison for life for the ‘crime’ of self-defense.
So it’s critical that we upgrade Stand-Your-Ground law to meet those threats.
Here in Missouri, if we use our firearms in a self-defense situation, we are presumed guilty in the eyes of the law. That means instead of the state having to prove our guilt, we have to prove our innocence. That’s much, much harder.
What often happens is a gun owner runs out of money to defend himself in court and is forced to accept a plea deal that still sends him to prison for a long time.
18 states have already fixed this by granting gun owners the legal presumption of innocence, but not Missouri.
In addition, the only way that we can use our Stand-Your-Ground law protections is during an appeal. After a conviction.
After you’re broke from legal expenses.
After you’ve been branded a killer in the media.
After you’ve lost your job from all of the exposure.
In many other states, gun owners can invoke Stand-Your-Ground law in a pretrial immunity hearing. And if there is evidence to back you up, the judge can dismiss the charges against you before you go through a 2-yr legal fight.
Missouri needs this, too. And badly.
But we can’t forget that we’re only weeks away from Attorney General Andrew Bailey formally appealing the 8th Circuit Court’s decision to strike down Missouri’s Second Amendment Preservation Act (SAPA.)
As you’ll remember, Missouri’s SAPA law prevented Joe Biden from forcing Missouri’s law enforcement officers to enforce federal gun control laws or executive orders.
And because we knew that St. Louis would disregarding this law, we made sure to include civil penalties in the law, so that any city that violated this law could be sued in civil court.
That’s why the DOJ attacked Missouri; no other SAPA law in the country had teeth. Striking down SAPA was a MUST DO for them.
If SAPA survives in court, it’s politically lethal for the Left because it would be THE PLAY BOOK for all red states.
The good news is that Attorney General Andrew Bailey agrees and understands the stakes. That’s why he is filing the State of Missouri’s appeal of SAPA to the United States Supreme Court early this year — and MOFC needs to help!
You see, it takes four justices to agree to hear a case at the Supreme Court. We know Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch are very interested in SAPA.
But MOFC needs to file Amicus Briefs to try to get two more justices to hear the case. Outside group interest is critical in showing the court how much public interest there is for SAPA!
But perhaps the biggest issue we’re facing is fixing the problem with Missouri’s initiative petition process.
You see, here in Missouri, Bloomberg and the Radical Left know that it will be very hard for them to mandate gun registries or ban AR-15s in Jefferson City.
Instead, their goal is to bypass the legislature entirely and amend the Missouri Constitution through an initiative petition (IP) that allows 50% plus 1 vote to put gun control directly into practice.
Most states have a far higher threshold for something so big as modifying the state constitution.
Because Missouri has such a low threshold, it means that St. Louis and Kansas City can override the will of the state and pass gun control on their own!
And with the passage of Amendment 3 last year (after the Left spent $25,000,000) the gun control crowd knows exactly how much it will cost to cripple Missouri.
We need to fix Missouri’s IP process.
One option is to require 50% plus 1 vote from every Congressional District to amend the constitution. Another option is to require 50% plus 1 vote from each State House district before a constitutional amendment could be passed.
There are pros and cons to each.
But if we don’t pass IP Reform in 2025, it’s almost certain that gun control will be on the ballot in 2026.
This could have been done last session, but RINOs in the Senate killed this bill at the last minute!
As you can see, there is a lot going on in 2025.
The impact of passing National Reciprocity would be huge!
The impact of enhancing Stand-Your-Ground law in Missouri would be huge. So would passing IP Reform and defending our SAPA law in the United States Supreme Court!
But as I said at the beginning of this letter, after all we accomplished in 2024, MOFC simply can’t afford to run full mobilization programs on each of these issues right now.
That’s why I need to hear from you.
With the legislature and Congress convening for 2025 in just a couple of days, where do you want us to focus?
Please let me know right away, by filling out your “2025 MOFC Members Only Ballot.”
When you review your member ballot, you’ll see that I have included another option. And if I’m being honest, this is the option I hope you’ll select…even if it seems crazy!
But, again, we can’t afford to fight on all fronts as things are today.
So if you choose Option 5, I hope that you’ll consider a very generous donation to help us run our full scale mobilization programs on these bills.
If you can afford to donate $100, now is the time.
If you can afford to donate $50, now is the time.
If you can afford to donate $25, now is the time.
The amount of your gift is always up to you. But after four years of defense against Biden’s attacks on our gun rights, it’s time to go on offense — as hard as we can!
The General Assembly is convening in just days; I need to hear from you as soon as possible.
For Missouri,
Aaron Dorr
Political Director
Missouri Firearms Coalition
P.S. The 2025 legislative session begins on January 8, and I need to make some very difficult decisions about where to focus our resources and our time this session.
We’ve been on defense for four years in D.C.; now it’s time to go on offense with National Reciprocity. But there are major opportunities here in Jefferson City, too.
But after a massive legislative and election program in 2024, we can’t engage in all of these at the same time. Where do YOU want us to fight?
Please fill out your “2025 MOFC Members Only Ballot” today!