SUMMARY
Missouri has had Stand-Your-Ground (SYG) law in place since 2016. Despite this, gun owners in Missouri are presumed guilty in any use of force situation. In almost 20 other states, gun owners are presumed innocent until the state proves their guilt in court. More, in these states, gun owners can’t be arrested without probable cause. And in many of them, gun owners can assert SYG in a pre-trial hearing. In Missouri, SYG protections don’t take effect until the appellate process.
DETAILS ON THIS LEGISLATION
- Grants the presumption of innocence to gun owners following a threatened or actual defensive shooting, forcing the state to prove their guilt in court
- Would prevent Missourians from being arrested following a threatened or actual shooting without probable cause that a crime was committed
- Grants immunity from prosecution to gun owners who use justifiable force as defined by current Missouri law
- Establishes a process for gun owners to assert this immunity in a pre-trial hearing, potentially sparing them from a malicious prosecution
- Continues to allow Missouri law enforcement to fully investigate alleged crimes and our county attorneys to bring charges as the evidence dictates
WHAT GUN OWNERS WANT
Following the malicious prosecutions of Mark and Patricia McCloskey and Kyle Rittenhouse, gun owners want self-defense laws that protect their rights and restrain prosecutors who are pursuing political wins, not justice. This enhanced Stand-Your-Ground is law today in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. And it’s being pursued in multiple other states this year.
Missouri Firearms Coalition SUPPORTS this legislation on behalf of our members.
QUESTIONS
Aaron Dorr, Political Director
573-338-4205 or [email protected]