Proposed legislation in Missouri could aid in the effort to stop a tyrannical government, or be a potential threat to the Second Amendment, depending on how it is implemented.
New Legislation
The new legislation would create minutemen of the state, forming a registry of armed volunteers who could be called to action by the governor during times of state emergency, with the consent of a majority of the state’s general assembly.
Missouri Senator Bill White, who introduced the legislation in February, called it “an avenue for people to volunteer to respond to a state emergency.”
“I can see it as, you’re gonna be secondary to SEMA,” says White, referring to the State Emergency Management Agency, “or you’re gonna be distributing water, you’re gonna be protecting our water and food supplies. You may be assigned to work with the sheriff in your county. These are law abiding residents of Missouri, and I think a lot of people would want an avenue to be able to step forward.”
Further explaining the legislation, White stated that the type of crisis he had in mind when proposing the legislation was one of civilization altering magnitude, not a typical natural disaster.
“There’s a book out there called One Second After about an EMP attack, a large electromagnetic pulse. If you all of a sudden completely lose the electric grid in Missouri, that is an Armageddon type scenario, where your average every day citizen’s like, ‘Okay, I wanna help do something,’” explains White.
Concerns
There is one implication of the legislation that is concerning to many Missourians.
“Volunteers would be require to supply their own firearms, ammunitions and other supplies, which would, from the time of signing up to be a volunteer, be considered property of the state,” according to KOAM News Now.
Brandon Spaugy, owner of Brandon’s Gun Trading Co. in Joplin is one of the Missouri residents speaking out about the potential law.
“That can be actually confiscated by this government body, and I can’t think of too many people that are gonna want that to happen,” says Spaugy.
Addressing Concerns
Senator White has answered these concerns, noting that the version of the bill that was available online at the time wasn’t the current version, and that there had already been an amendment added that would address the issue.
“We have a whole list of things. They cannot be taxed, cannot be seized, no registration requirements. We have a whole laundry list of things,” White said.
White also noted that, since the firearms would be deemed property of the state, the legislation would protect gun owners’ Second Amendment rights from the federal government.
“The federal law is not nullified, it’s just not applicable. What we (the state) own the federal government can’t tax and control, and vice versa. Taxing may become a big issue with some of the things going on in D.C. Looking at the bills that are proposed out there, it’s a method of control,” White said. “If you have to pay, you know, a hundred dollars in taxes a year on something, and you own many of them that’s kind of a problem.”
The amendment also changes the majority vote required for the governor to call the minutemen into action from a two-thirds majority to a three-fourths majority of the general assembly.
The first committee hearing to discuss the bill is scheduled for March 30. The full version of Senate Bill 528 can be found here.
