Missouri House Democrats file bills to reform gun laws

Missouri House Democrats filed bills to reform Missouri gun laws Tuesday, but party leaders acknowledged the bills won’t be considered during the special session taking place this week.

LIVE PLAYBACK of the conference can be viewed in the player below.

The Minority House Caucus held a news conference to discuss bills to reform Missouri’s gun laws that are being filed for the special session on a vehicle sales tax rule that is taking place in the Capitol. House Minority Leader Crystal Quade said they must start the conversation on gun reform now.

“If preventing more Missouri children from being murdered isn’t worthy of a special session, then calling one to enable a few people to dodge paying their full share of taxes cannot be logically or morally defendable,” Quade said Tuesday.

Democrats have called on Republican Gov. Mike Parson to add gun law reform to the special session, but he has so far refused to do so.

Quade said the House Democrats have filed more than a dozen bills addressing gun violence in Missouri.

“We understand that filing bills today isn’t going to get us anywhere. It’s up to the governor to expand the (special session) call,” Quade said, “It’s happened before, and we filed these bills to demand that the conversation start.”

LIVE PLAYBACK of a news conference with St. Louis leaders and Gov. Mike Parson is available in the player below.

Parson was in St. Louis on Tuesday discussing violent crime in the city. He met behind closed doors with the St. Louis mayor and other local, state and federal law enforcement to discuss priorities and possible proposals for addressing violent crime in the St. Louis region.

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