JOHN,

This is a simple fact: states that have common sense gun laws have fewer gun deaths. Missouri ranks among the very bottom of all states in America for having some of the weakest gun laws—and, consequently, among the very top for the highest rate of gun deaths.

This is the reality we’ve been told to accept year in and year out: the “freedom” for just about anyone to own and carry firearms in just about every public venue is more important than people’s lives. It is more important, we are told, than our expectation of safety and our right
to exist in a society free from the ever-present fear of falling victim to senseless gun violence.

One individual lost her life on Wednesday during the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl Parade as gunfire opened near Union Station in downtown KC. What should have been a joyous celebration of community turned into a nightmare for hundreds. Numerous people have
been shot and injured, including some children.

I am filled with sadness at what happened, and my heart goes out to the victims, their families, and everyone affected by this horrific event. 

And while this tragedy, and many others like it, calls for mourning and grief, it also calls for reflection on the main causes of mass shootings in America.

You can draw a straight line from the pro-gun policies this state has adopted under Republican control to the carnage and pervasive gun violence we experience today.

Nearly all of Missouri’s gun safety regulations have been systematically dismantled during the time that the GOP has maintained a supermajority in the legislature. Over the past 20 years, Missouri lawmakers have:

• Repealed the permit and background check requirement to purchase a handgun (2007)
• Prevented cities and counties from enacting their own gun policies (2016)
• Repealed concealed carry permit requirements (2016)
• Passed one of the most extreme pro-gun laws in the country (2021)

They have repeatedly pursued frivolous, unconstitutional measures that would actually punish local law enforcement for cooperating with federal authorities on gun-related investigations. This policy has thankfully, for now, been struck down by the courts—but that hasn’t stopped the extremists from trying to pass it again.

A 2020 study led by Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions concluded that Missouri's repeal of requirements for permit and background checks to own handguns in 2007 “was associated with a 47 percent increase in gun homicide rates and a 23 percent increase in gun suicide rates.” Missouri currently has no age restrictions on gun use and possession.

This is not coincidence: it is design. NRA and gun manufacturer lobbying and political support for politicians who share their extreme, absolutist views on guns has resulted in a state legislature that enthusiastically does their bidding while trampling on our right to a safer society.

It is time to stand up and demand more from our leaders— stop doing what lobbyists and special interests pay you to do; start doing your damn jobs.

Charles Omenihu, defensive end for the Kansas City Chiefs who was present during the shooting, said it well: “When are we going to fix these gun laws? How many more people have to die to say 'enough is enough.' It’s too easy for the wrong people to obtain guns in America and that’s a FACT.”

I am running to change this in the Missouri Senate. I am running to provide leadership, to work toward compromise, to find solutions and common ground. There is no reason we have to live like this and accept doing nothing in response to preventable tragedy.

I will fight for you and I will fight for stronger gun safety laws to protect our children and our lives.

Sincerely,

-Joe

Paid for by Pereles for Missouri, Rhonda West, Treasurer

Please mail checks to:

Pereles For Missouri
PO Box 6641
Chesterfield, MO 63006
United States

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