Because no proposal in today’s pro-civilian disarmament climate seems to go too far, Missouri state Senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal, a Democrat from the St. Louis suburb of University City, is doing her bit in the war on guns. Her proposal: force the parents of all school-age children – whether they attend government or private schools – to report the fact that the family owns guns to their school’s administrators. How could this possibly prevent a school shooting? It can’t, but that’s not really the point . . .
In addition to the firearms reporting feature, Chappelle-Nadal’s bill, SB124, also has a California-style “safe storage” requirement and would punish parents for “failing to stop illegal firearm possession” by their yoots.
As she told ksdk.com:
“I am not trying to take away the gun rights of any parents or any other citizens I believe in the second amendment,” says State Senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal.
She says she wants the violence in schools to stop and this is just one different idea that no one has brought up.
“It encourages parents to make sure they store their guns safely in their home, it also gives the school districts the opportunity to help encourage gun safety in the community and in the household,” says the Senator.
Exactly how schools would use this info to “encourage” parents isn’t really clear. Proponents of ever-more government school “investment” are always quick to point out how woefully underfunded they are when trying to rationalize their continually deteriorating performance. Piling on more non-educational requirements such as maintaining firearms ownership records might be part of the problem. Just a thought.
But don’t worry, Show-Me Staters, our own Clarence Darrow, Chris Dumm, has pronounced Chappelle-Nadal’s brainstorm DOA. Here’s his always-trenchant take on this legislative laugher:
It would also require all gun owners to register themselves with the superintendent of every public, private or charter school that their children attend. Owners would not have to list or identify their guns, but they would have to file an updated registration each time a new child enrolls.
The bill, as written, does not specifically exempt non-custodial parents or out-of-state parents, even if they don’t know which school their children have been enrolled in. It does exempt the parents of home-schooled children who would otherwise have had to register, presumably, with themselves.
Failure to register as a gun owner would not be a criminal offense, but an infraction with a $100 penalty. Because no lunatic will ever go on a rampage if they might get fined a Benjamin for it, right?
SB 124 was first read on January 9th, and it’s gone nowhere in a hurry in the last two weeks. The GOP controls the Missouri Senate by a margin of 24 to 10, so it’s probably fair to predict that this bill will quietly asphyxiate before it even gets a committee hearing.