Missouri Republicans and Some Scared Democrats Ready to Re-Fight the Civil War Over Guns

Today In Crazy – An Ongoing Series on the Lunatics of Republicans and Democrats

A recent trend in American politics is that former swing states are lining up solidly Republican.  West Virginia is one of these, as is Missouri.  And in Missouri the Republicans in charge are ready to commit the state to another session of the Civil War.  This time the issue is guns and nullification of federal laws.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Unless a handful of wavering Democrats change their minds, the Republican-controlled Missouri legislature is expected to enact a statute next month nullifying all federal gun laws in the state and making it a crime for federal agents to enforce them here. A Missourian arrested under federal firearm statutes would even be able to sue the arresting officer.

Now no one believes that such a law can withstand a court challenge.  So the only impact is to waste the resources of government in settling the issue in the courts.  But since almost nothing can be done without there being some benefit, the law does illustrate in vivid detail why Republican extremists should never, ever be allowed to govern.

As for the Profiles in Courage moment, there is this Republican.

The lone Republican opponent of the bill in the House, State Representative Jay Barnes, said, “Our Constitution is not some cheap Chinese buffet where we get to pick the parts we like and ignore the rest.” He added, “Two centuries of constitutional jurisprudence shows that this bill is plainly unconstitutional, and I’m not going to violate my oath of office.”

Gosh, a man of principles has been elected.  Wonder what his new job will be.