ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo.—Efforts to put a statewide ballot question to voters next year asking for local control of gun laws in the state have stalled, two months after supporters submitted language to the Missouri Secretary of State.

In late June, Sensible Missouri, led by former St. Louis Public Safety Director Judge Jimmie Edwards, former Missouri State Sen. Joan Bray and Richard Rosenfeld, professor emeritus at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, submitted three versions of ballot language which differed on which counties could enact their own gun laws and when. All three versions would allow St. Louis, St. Louis County, Kansas City and Jackson County to do so upon passage of the statewide question. Other versions would allow other counties to pass their own ordinances or hold a countywide vote.

What You Need To Know

  • Sensible Missouri submitted three versions of ballot language which differed on which counties could enact their own gun laws and when. All three versions would allow St. Louis, St. Louis County, Kansas City and Jackson County to do so upon passage of the statewide question. Other versions would allow other counties to pass their own ordinances or hold a countywide vote

  • Poll results to see which measure would have the most support "don't look good for the initiative, Richard Rosenfeld, professor emeritus at the University of Missouri-St. Louis told Spectrum News Wednesday

  • A lawsuit filed in Cole County Court asks the Secretary of State to reject the ballot language, and would have the State Auditor produce new fiscal notes and ballot summaries

  • The legal battle is separate from the court fight expected if the city of St. Louis passes legislation promised this month by Mayor Tishaura Jones that would ban "military-grade" weapons

The group said in June it would poll-test the language to see which version had the most support.

“We did see some poll results, which don't look good for the initiative. Our effort is on hold for now,” Rosenfeld said in an email to Spectrum News on Wednesday.

This week, Paul Berry III, a former Republican candidate for St. Louis County Executive and Congress, sued in Cole County Court, describing the ballot proposals as “repugnant to the Constitution.” Berry wants the Secretary of State to reject the language, and to force new ballot summaries and fiscal notes.

The battle over ballot issues is separate from a legal fight that is expected as the city of St. Louis considers passing new gun laws that would ban “military-grade weapons”, prevent the sale or transfer of guns to minors and prohibit “insurrectionists and those convicted of hate crimes” from having guns.

Mayor Tishaura Jones outlined the broad goals of legislation expected to be introduced by the Board of Aldermen this fall, which prompted an immediate threat of legal action from Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey. 

"I will zealously perform my constitutional duty to defend the rights of each law-abiding citizen to “keep and bear arms … in defense of [their] home, person, family and property,” Bailey wrote in a letter to Jones Aug. 22.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson also predicts a quick legal challenge.

"You gotta follow the law, and the law says you can’t do that. So it’s not as simple for me. I wish I could have that opportunity to do that against the federal government, everything I don’t like the feds put out there, but the truth is I can’t because they are federal laws some times and you have to abide by that,” Parson told reporters Tuesday during a stop in Chesterfield.

“Until you change the state law you can’t just go do what you want just because you live in an urban area. It’s not set up to do that.”