Supreme Court rebuffs push to revive Missouri gun law

The Supreme Court refused Monday to revive a controversial Missouri gun law that bans police from enforcing some federal firearm laws.

The high court rejected a push to hear arguments over whether the state can block police from enforcing federal gun laws that don’t have an equivalent state law.

The measure imposed $50,000 fines for officers who knowingly enforced those federal laws, which include possession of firearms by some domestic violence offenders and weapons registration and tracking.

Lower courts found the 2019 law violated the Supremacy Clause, a section of the U.S. Constitution that says federal law takes precedence over state laws.

The justices refused to intervene in 2023, keeping the law blocked while a court fight between the state and the federal government played out.

The conflict wrecked a law-enforcement partnership dedicated to combatting violent crime after the state crime lab refused to process evidence that would help federal firearms prosecutions.

Republican lawmakers who helped pass the bill said they were motivated by the potential for new gun restrictions under then-President Joe Biden, a Democrat who signed the most sweeping gun violence bill in decades.