Missouri has appallingly weak gun laws and one of the country’s highest gun death rates. Lawmakers owe it to residents to start putting the safety of their communities first.
Since 2017, the state has allowed people to carry concealed, loaded firearms in public without a background check or permit. In 2021, Missouri enacted the so-called “Second Amendment Preservation Act (SAPA)” which purports to impose fines on local and state law enforcement officers for enforcing federal gun laws.1 SAPA has been found unconstitutional.
In 2021, Missouri had the tenth highest gun death rate among the states. Missouri also supplied crime guns to other states at a higher rate than the national average, and the state exports more crime guns than it imports.
What Missouri Does Well
- Partial open carry regulations
- Certain child access prevention laws
What Missouri Is Missing
- Universal background checks
- Gun owner licensing
- Extreme risk protection orders
- Domestic violence gun laws
- Assault weapon restrictions
- Large capacity magazine ban
- Waiting periods
- Concealed carry permit
- Community violence intervention funding
SPOTLIGHT
GUN LAW SCORECARD
The data is clear: states with stronger gun laws have less gun violence. See how your state compares in our annual ranking.
Read MoreEXPLORE MISSOURI’S GUN LAWS
WHO CAN HAVE A GUN
OWNER RESPONSIBILITIES
CHILD & CONSUMER SAFETY
GUNS IN PUBLIC
HARDWARE & AMMUNITION
OTHER LAWS & POLICIES
SUPPORT GUN SAFETY
We’re in this together. To build a safer America—one where children and parents in every neighborhood can learn, play, work, and worship without fear of gun violence—we need you standing beside us in this fight.
- Mo. Rev. Stat. § 1.410 et. seq.[↩]