Boone County Democrats discuss gun laws at town hall
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
As gun crime rises in Columbia, the lawmakers representing that area discussed ways to possibly address it at the state level.
The four Democratic Missouri House representatives from Boone County spoke with those they represent Tuesday evening at the Laborers' Hall on Tiger Lane. The event was hosted by the Boone County Democrats and LiLUNA Local 955.
Reps. Kathy Steinhoff, David Tyson Smith, Adrian Plank and Doug Mann, all from Columbia, are expected to be there. One topic the group expected to talk about was gun laws.
"I suspect we will be discussing the good, the bad and the ugly in this past session," Plank said.
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol's crime database, there were more than 400 gun crimes police reported in Columbia in 2022, where it's stayed around for the last couple years.
Republicans and Democrats alike failed to get gun bills across the finish line this year.
Tyson Smith spoke about one of the bills he introduced this year that would raise the age to buy automatic guns because of mass shootings happening across the country. The bill did not pass this year.
"Those are all teenagers going out by themselves and buying those weapons," Tyson Smith said.
Boone County Republican Rep. Cheri Toalson Reisch co-sponsored legislation a pair of bills that would have made it easier to carry a gun. House Bill 38 would've prevented employers from firing an employee for having a gun on site, and House Bill 282 would've allowed concealed carry on public transportation. Neither bill passed this year.
"Republicans are a super majority, there will be no gun restrictions, no gun bans will be passed in Missouri," Toalson Reisch said. "If anything, we hope to continue to lessen gun restrictions in Missouri."
