Kansas City mass shooting draws attention to Missouri’s gun laws
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The mass shooting in Kansas City at the Chiefs Super Bowl parade on Wednesday is drawing attention to Missouri's gun laws, which are some of the most relaxed in the country.
Police say 22 people were hurt and one woman died when gunfire erupted during a dispute outside Union Station following the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl parade.
It was reported on Friday that the two suspects charged in that shooting were juveniles, but it is unknown how they got the weapons used in the shooting. Federal law prohibits licensed dealers from selling long guns to people under the age of 18 and handguns to people under 21.
Missouri law also prohibits anyone from recklessly selling or loaning a gun to someone under the age of 18 without the consent of a parent or guardian. However, Missouri currently has no age restriction when it comes to possessing and using a gun.
Rep. David Tyson Smith (D-Columbia) said the shooting will absolutely spark conversations at the Capitol.
"The legislators on the Democratic side are going to be getting together and coming up with strategies on how to deal with this," Smith said. "But here's the issue. This is not going to be fixed in the short term."
In February 2023, Missouri's Republican-dominated House voted against banning minors from openly carrying guns in public without adult supervision. The vote failed 104-39 with only one Republican vote supporting the ban.
Rep. Cheri Toalson Reisch (R-Hallsville) told ABC 17 there will not be any further discussion regarding state gun laws. Reisch said more gun laws are not going to stop criminals and that criminals do not follow the law, "that's why they are called criminals."
Smith said the challenge when discussing gun laws is the partisanship in the legislature.
"The problem is there's people that just will not do the right thing when it comes to this type of legislation," Smith said. "Everybody knows that this is horrific. Everybody knows that it's time to to change our society for the better. These types of situations should not be normalized, but there's groups of people that are so dug in, they have so much opposition. They don't want to do what's necessary."
