House Urges Koster to Protect Missourian’s Religious Liberties

The Missouri House took action this week to encourage Attorney General Chris Koster to act in the best interest of Missourians by protecting their religious freedoms and conscience rights pursuant to the First Amendment.  I filed House Concurrent Resolution 35 in the wake of the errant US District Court’s decision that sections of Senate Bill 749 – overwhelmingly passed by the General Assembly after being vetoed by the Governor – was unconstitutional.

What was SB 749?

Senate Bill 749 provided employers the protections needed after the Democrat Congress and the President moved to violate the rights of millions of Americans in requiring them to provide insurance coverage for anti-life forms of “healthcare” for their employees regardless of their religious objections.  Missouri employers shoulder much burden already in providing benefits in the form of health and dental insurance coverage for those who work for their businesses or organizations.  They have made it clear, however, that being forced to cover religiously-objectionable services was a step too far.

What’s Next?

HCR 35 will need further action from the Senate, and I am hopeful they will concur and go on record in support of advancing the cause of religious liberty and freedom in our state.  Business owners should not be forced to provide products to their employees that they find morally objectionable or that violate their religious beliefs.

House Supports Basic Rights

This week the Missouri House advanced another piece of legislation to enhance your Second Amendment rights with HB 533, sponsored by Representative Jeanie Riddle (R-49). This bill grants state employees the right to store a firearm in their vehicle on state property, as long as the vehicle is locked and the firearm out of sight.

The aim of this legislation is simply to ensure that state employees are not denied the right to defend themselves while traveling to and from work. There are several instances in which having a firearm in one’s vehicle would ensure safety and even save lives. Suppose that, upon pulling into their driveway, a person is confronted by an assailant. If the person has a firearm, they can defend themselves and their loved ones from possible harm, and prevent a needless tragedy.

There are few places a person is more helpless as when they are stranded on the side of the road late at night. If a person has a wreck or if their car breaks down, they are at the mercy of passersby. Even with a cell phone, friends or the police may not arrive on the scene for several minutes – which can be a common occurrence in rural areas. During that time, any individual, alone and exposed, is at risk for assault. A firearm, kept in the vehicle during the work day, puts power back into this person’s hands.

There are also less alarming applications for this law. A law-abiding state employee who enjoys hunting or target practice in their leisure time could store their firearms in their car and continue on to the shooting range right after work. This would save time and – especially important with today’s prices – gasoline.

Self-defense is the most basic of rights. HB 533 acknowledges this foundational part of American law and simply allows state employees full advantage of their right to personal safety.

Nixon Administration Confirms Sharing Data with Feds

If you have been minding the state news wires, you have no doubt heard the accusations that the Missouri Department of Revenue, which operates the Division of Motor Vehicles, has been scanning, storing, and sharing private information with the federal government regarding our citizens who are permitted to carry concealed weapons.  The original complaint came from a Stoddard County resident who did not wish for their information to be scanned at the local DMV.  Just last week, the Missouri State Highway Patrol admitted that in fact they had requested on two occasions the complete list of Missouri CCW holders and they had forwarded that information on to the federal government. 

Why Should I Care About This Issue?

There are a variety of reasons why this issue is premier.  First, it is against the law.  The Missouri General Assembly, in 2009, passed HB 361 which specifically states “no citizen of this state shall have his or her privacy compromised by the state or agents of the state.” 

Second, while the government might have good interest in certain data at the group level (this helps when they are tracking and mitigating disease, for example), I can think of no good reason the government should be pinpointing CCW holders individually.  Having a CCW is not a crime or grounds for an investigation.  In fact, it should be encouraged.

Third, this action is one of many in a long line of mishaps attributable to the Nixon administration that shows their continued disdain for accountability and transparency in government and their continued effort to centralize power in the Executive Branch, no matter the means or the ends.  Whether it was the mishandling of the E. coli incident at the Lake of the Ozarks by Nixon’s DNR, the incredible debacle of crony capitalism involving Mamtek at Moberly that cost taxpayers millions at the hands of Nixon’s DED, the continued mishandling of the application of the Prop B dog breeder compromise by Nixon’s Department of Agriculture, the unnecessary purchase of a new plane at a cost of over 5.5 million dollars to taxpayers or this latest incident involving the sharing of your private identity information and disturbing disclosure of Missouri’s entire CCW database to the federal government, the Nixon administration seems to care little for accountability, transparency or being a responsible steward of taxpayer dollars.

What Are We Doing to Help?

The House has responded with Representative Richardson’s (R-Poplar Bluff) House Bill 787, which would further prohibit the Department of Revenue from retaining copies of source documents used to obtain driver's licenses and nondriver's licenses.  On the Senate side, Senator Kurt Schaefer (R-Columbia) has led the investigative charge and continues to garner information from the Nixon Administration regarding this apparent breach of privacy and trust. 

My office continues to receive a variety of concerns from constituents regarding this evolving issue.  I am committed to ensuring your government is responsible in protecting your privacy.  If you have further questions, comments, or concerns, please let me know.

HCR 35 / CCW Privacy Breach Vlog