Missouri Has Some Of The Weakest Gun Laws In The Country, Resulting In The Eight Highest Rate Of Gun Deaths In The U.S.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – On Friday, the Missouri legislature officially wrapped the 2025 legislative session, again, choosing to take no substantial action to combat the gun violence epidemic. Instead, lawmakers passed House Bill 495, a dangerous policy that will wrest control of St. Louis’ police force away from its democratically elected mayor and place it in the hands of an appointed board — thwarting any efforts by the city to improve community trust in policing or enact police accountability measures, undermining public safety in St. Louis.
Lawmakers also came dangerously close to passing House Bill 1175, which would have revived Missouri’s previous “Second Amendment Preservation Act,” which was struck down as unconstitutional in 2023. The policy would prohibit state or local employees from enforcing certain federal firearms laws and would bar law enforcement from hiring agents who have previously enforced certain federal gun laws. This dangerous bill was only blocked due to Missouri Senate infighting.
“It’s unfathomable that year after year, our elected leaders in the Missouri statehouse choose to push dangerous gun bills to appease extremists, rather than take meaningful action on proven violence prevention measures,” said Shannon Witcher, a volunteer with the Missouri chapter of Moms Demand Action. “This is the devastating cost of extremist control in Missouri, and it’s why we are more determined than ever to elect gun safety champions. We’re incredibly proud of our chapter for showing up, speaking out, and standing firm against these reckless policies. We will not be deterred as we know lives are on the line.”
“Lawmakers’ inaction on gun safety is a promise to the next generation of students that they’ll grow up just like we did–traumatized by gun violence,” said Amelia Rejent, a volunteer with Parkway North High School Students Demand Action chapter. “Their failure is a choice, a choice that our communities will continue to suffer from. We refuse to let this crisis go on and that’s why we’ll keep organizing, protesting, and educating until our right to live free from gun violence is fully recognized.”
During the legislative session, Missouri lawmakers attempted to advance many dangerous gun bills, including:
- HB 495, legislation wrest control of the city’s police force away from its democratically elected mayor in St. Louis and place it in the hands of an appointed board. This bill passed and was signed into law by Governor Kehoe;
- House Bill 1175, that would revive Missouri’s previous “Second Amendment Preservation Act,” which was struck down as unconstitutional in 2023. HB 1175 made it through the House, but was short of one Senate floor vote of passing;
- SB 77, which would further weaken gun laws by forcing firearms into places of worship and public transit;
- SB 142, legislation to nullify federal laws in Missouri by declaring federal and state judicial orders requiring relinquishment of firearms by “law-abiding citizens” as a Second Amendment infringement, effectively attempting to invalidate any extreme risk protection order from another jurisdiction, and
- SB 363, legislation to expand Missouri’s dangerous Shoot First law, a policy associated with an increase in homicides and with instances of racist gun violence, giving people a license to kill, allowing them to use deadly force as a first option rather than the last and then claim self defense.
Missouri lawmakers have put lives in jeopardy by systematically chipping away at any and all gun safety laws, including rolling back measures to require background checks for private handgun sales and measures to require a permit to carry concealed firearms in public. Missouri lawmakers continue to try to expand the state’s dangerous Shoot First law, also known as Stand Your Ground, which gives people a license to kill by allowing them to use deadly force as a first option rather than the last. These laws have been associated with an increase in homicides and instances of racist gun violence. This policy has a disproportionate impact on communities of color. In states with Shoot First laws, homicides in which white shooters kill Black victims are deemed justifiable five times more frequently than when the situation is reversed.
The combination of Shoot First Laws and paranoid extremism promoted by the gun lobby have created a vigilante gun culture that encourages people to seek out dangerous situations and emboldens them to preemptively shoot others and then claim self-defense. The shooting of Ralph Yarl in 2023 highlighted just how dangerous the reality is of the culture created by these gun lobby policies — one where paranoid adults, armed with deadly weapons, can shoot children with no warning.
Missouri has some of the weakest gun laws in the country and lacks many foundational gun safety laws, which has resulted in the state having the eight highest rate of gun deaths and fourth highest rate of gun injury in the country. In an average year, 1,381 people die by guns in Missouri. More information about Missouri’s gun laws is available here.