Feb. 16 (UPI) — The U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday sued the state of Missouri over a law that seeks to bar local police from enforcing federal gun laws.
In its filing, the Justice Department said the law, known as H.B. 85, which went into effect in August and declares “invalid” five federal gun regulations that do not have an equivalent under Missouri law, “uniquely discriminates against federal agencies and employees; impairs law enforcement efforts in Missouri; and contravenes the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution.”
“A state cannot simply declare federal laws invalid,” Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, said in a statement. “This act makes enforcement of federal firearms laws difficult and strains the important law enforcement partnerships that help keep violent criminals off the street.”
The Justice Department said the law has hindered cooperation and other activities that assist federal, state and local law enforcement efforts as the law imposes financial penalties on state and local law enforcement agencies that employ an officer who enforces a prohibited federal law.
U.S. law enforcement officials have also reported scenarios in which police departments have withdrawn their officers from task forces led by federal law enforcement agencies, CNN reported.
“This act impedes criminal law enforcement operations in Missouri,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The United States will work to ensure that our state and local law enforcement partners are not penalized for doing their jobs to keep our communities safe.”
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