A Missouri Republican lawmaker is upping the ante on opposition to gun control legislation by trying to make it illegal to even propose gun restricting legislation.
That's right. He doesn't even want to hear his fellow lawmakers suggest it, and if they do, he wants to make them felons.
State Rep. Mike Leara, a Republican from St. Louis, has introduced a new bill that would ban any gun control proposals in the state. The bill reads, “Any member of the general assembly who proposes a piece of legislation that further restricts the right of an individual to bear arms, as set forth under the second amendment of the Constitution of the United States, shall be guilty of a class D felony.”
The bill is probably unconstitutional, since the Missouri Constitution protects the right to free speech and debate, and Leara admits the law is unlikely to pass.
"I have no illusions about the bill making it through the legislative process, but I want it to be clear that the Missouri House will stand in defense of the people's constitutional right to keep and bear arms," he said in a statement.
Shockingly, Leara's reaction to gun control proposals may not be the most extreme. His fellow State Rep. Eric Burlison released a video Tuesday in which voters literally shoot holes into a copy of a proposed assault weapons ban.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=oMIeeIr3Ngs]