Missouri chapter of Moms Demand Action delivering firearm petition: Resa Dudley, Wanda Thompson, Taunia Adams, Rylee Hirschvogel, Rep. Stacey Newman and Charmaine Owens.
By Sam Levin, riverfronttimes.com
Republican Representative Mike Leara wants to send fellow lawmakers to jail – with a felony conviction – if they propose gun control legislation
Representative Stacey Newman, a Democrat who has been very vocal on gun control, has collected thousands of signatures on a petition to urge lawmakers and legislative leaders to quit introducing pro-gun publicity stunt bills that she says are a distraction to the serious efforts to reduce gun violence. Her main target? Republican Representative Mike Leara and his bill to criminalize lawmakers like Newman who even propose gun control.
“We’re asking the legislature to stop it with the insane bills,” Newman tells Daily RFT. “Let’s stop the nonsense and let’s get the attention back on things that can actual save lives.”
And why not promote this cause through legislation?
Newman, as you might recall, was the representative last year who proposed a bill to restrict vasectomies, her clever contribution to the birth control debate and response to Republican lawmakers trying to restrict abortions. Wasn’t that bill a symbolic one to get her pro-choice message across?
“There’s still some crazy abortion stuff,” Newman says, noting that there are lawmakers this session trying to control women’s health care choices with more anti-abortion bills. “Nobody laughs at that.”