In layman’s terms: The U.S. Department of Justice, under Pam Bondi’s leadership, opposes the U.S. Supreme Court hearing a case regarding Missouri’s Second Amendment Preservation Act.
On June 11, the Department of Justice under Pam Bondi filed a brief in opposition to Missouri’s request for the Supreme Court to weigh in on a case regarding its Second Amendment Preservation Act (SAPA), saying it, “does not warrant the Court’s review.”
The signatories to the government’s filing today in the case of State of Missouri, et al., Petitioners v. United States of America, include the Acting Solicitor General, Hashim M. Mooppan, and the Acting Assistant Attorney General, Yaakov M. Roth.
In concluding that the petition should be denied, the government suggests Missouri can amend its law under the Eighth Circuit’s decision and notes a Rule 60(b)(5) motion will resolve disputes over the injunction’s scope. The Justice Department does acknowledge both some issues and its changing posture, indicating it would rather have the issue resolved at the appeals level:
That said, while Missouri’s objections are flawed, the Constitutionality of some of the Act’s provisions raises more difficult questions than the Eighth Circuit recognized. And following the change in administration, the United States has decided it no longer wishes to challenge those provisions in this pre-enforcement posture.
Missouri passed SAPA into law on June 12, 2021, declaring certain federal firearms laws as unconstitutional infringements and prohibiting state officials from using state resources to enforce federal firearms laws deemed unconstitutional by the state, (like the National Firearms Act and Gun Control Act).
The Biden administration challenged the law, leading to the district court invalidating it entirely on March 6, 2023, with the Eighth Circuit affirming it on August 26, 2024. Missouri, led by Governor Michael L. Kehoe and Attorney General Andrew Bailey, filed a petition for a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court in January of this year.
A win at the Supreme Court would be a preferred outcome for Missouri, permanently ensconcing a pro-Second Amendment stance environment from federal oversight could serve as a template for other states. It remains unclear why the Trump administration would be against such an outcome.
