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SE Missouri officials air state gun law concerns on ‘60 Minutes’
Poplar Bluff Police Chief Danny Whiteley and Butler County Prosecutor Kacey Proctor reflected Monday on their appearance Sunday night on CBS’ “60 Minutes” program, where they discussed Missouri’s Second Amendment Preservation Act and the unintended problems it’s brought to law enforcement.
The pair, along with Prosecuting Attorney Association President Steve Sokoloff, appeared in a 12-minute segment filmed last month at the Black River Coliseum with CBS’ Norah O’Donnell.
“The ‘60 Minutes’ crew, in my opinion, they asked strictly what our thoughts were and I thought they gave everybody an opportunity to justify what they thought. It wasn’t biased any way or the other. It was a nice surprise, something like I consider the old-time news … they put the facts out there and let the people make their judgments,” said Whiteley.
“I think it’s very difficult to explain the issues this law has created in 12 minutes. I think the producers were fair to both sides. They gave both sides the opportunity to say what they wanted to say,” Proctor said.
The problem with the Second Amendment Preservation Act, signed into law in June, Proctor said, is it can subject local law enforcement officers to fines of $50,000 per offense if it is deemed they worked with federal officials in the enforcement of gun crimes.
“The way it’s written, we are neutered,” said Whiteley, who noted his department has more than a dozen cases “that we would have already forwarded to the ATF for federal prosecution if we were allowed to.
“When it comes down to $50,000 per officer, we can’t afford it.”
On the opposite side of the argument were the law’s sponsors, Sen. Eric Burlison of Greene County and Rep. Jered Taylor of Christian County, who are both Republicans.
Proctor says he does not want to repeal the laws, but insists changes should be made.
“I’m not an advocate for full repeal of the Second Amendment Preservation Act, but I do feel some attention needs to be given to certain issues within the law,” he said.
“The question I have is if the law doesn’t do anything to prevent us from working with the federal government (as its sponsors said in the 60 minutes interview), then what is the point of the law,” Proctor questioned.
“They can say what they meant and what they thought, and how they felt until the cows come home, but it’s not up to them to interpret it anymore,” Proctor said of the law. “They can say what the intent was all along, but there are words written on documents that were signed into law and it’s not up to them to say retroactively what their intent was. It’s going to be up to the Court of Appeals to decide what the law is.”
Taylor and Burlison told O’Donnell they had no intention of making changes to the law. Plus, they said, there are many law enforcement agencies around the state who continue to work with their federal counterparts without problems.
“I haven’t talked to every law enforcement agency in the state of Missouri, but I can tell you I have spoken to numerous prosecutors and numerous law enforcement members all across Southeast Missouri and they all express the same concerns we do,” Proctor said. “I don’t know too many county attorneys who are going to recommend to their county sheriffs and chiefs of police to go ahead and throw caution to the wind and go out and do what they want to do, which may or may not be a violation of the Second Amendment Preservation Act and subject their departments to $50,000 fines.
“The fact of the matter is, there’s not too many departments in Southeast Missouri that can afford one $50,000 fine.”
In Ripley County, a law enforcement official was sued earlier in the summer for a violation of the law, the first Proctor knows of in the state. This case has since been dismissed without prejudice, which means it can be re-filed.
Proctor noted he finds it curious Taylor, in his 60 Minutes interview, said the law was ambiguous, meaning it was vague.
“I think it’s interesting he would say it’s ambiguous and ‘it’s their fault because they don’t understand it,’” Proctor said.
The law, Proctor said, is biased against law enforcement officials.
“When I first heard about SAPA, I thought it was great because I love guns, I shoot all the time and I’m a member of two gun clubs. I served in the National Guard,” Proctor said. “But, the fact of the matter is, this law does nothing to the federal government.”
Whiteley agreed.
“I support the intent of the law,” Whiteley said, who feels Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden, AOC and other liberals want to take everybody’s guns.
“But they need to fix it so we can protect the citizens and protect our families and the law abiding citizens can still have all the firearms they want,” he continued.
“What’s sad about the whole situation is I’m a card-carrying NRA member, I’m a card-carrying Poplar Bluff Gun Club member, I’m a huge Second Amendment supporter, but this is protecting criminals that are out shooting around town,” Whiteley added.
Plus, Proctor said, fines are for each violation.
“If five law enforcement officers from Ripley County testify in a federal trial, and it’s determined they violated the Second Amendment Preservation Act by doing so, that’s $250,000 in fines. What would that do to the Ripley County Sheriff’s Department?” Proctor questioned.
In addition, Proctor said, a lawsuit can be brought by anyone in the state, and while they can be filed in the county where the violation took place, they also can be filed in Cole County.
“What that means is that somebody up in Jefferson City that wants to make a political statement can file a lawsuit against your local agency and drag them up to Cole County,” Proctor said. “If they win, they can get costs and fees recovered. If Poplar Bluff prevails on the lawsuit after having been dragged up to Cole County, they get nothing.”
The law, Proctor said, is simply too one sided.
Around 20 states have similar laws, Proctor noted, but Missouri is the only one which fines law enforcement officers.
In August, Missouri’s 25th District Senator, Jason Bean, along with District 152 and 153 Representatives Darrell Atchison and Hardy Billington, all Republicans, admitted the law has produced unintended consequences. Each vowed to go back and look at the law in an effort to make potential changes that would not hamper law enforcement efforts.
Whiteley was thankful to the Daily American Republic for its previous stories on the issue and to Kathy Sweeney at KFVS.
“Had everybody not done a little something, we wouldn’t have gotten the attention we’re getting,” he said.