Missouri responds defiantly to Justice Dept. over gun law

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP)

Missouri's Republican governor and attorney general have told the U.S. Department of Justice that they stand by the state's new law that would ban police from enforcing federal gun rules.

Gov. Mike Parson and Attorney General Eric Schmitt wrote in a letter Thursday that they plan to enforce the law, which would penalize local police departments if their officers enforce federal gun laws. In a letter sent Wednesday night and obtained by The Associated Press, Justice Department officials pointed out that federal law trumps state law under the U.S. Constitution's Supremacy Clause.

Republicans behind the law said they were motivated by the potential for more restrictive gun laws under Democratic President Joe Biden. But Democrats say it's unconstitutional.