A man holds up a sign denouncing gun violence during a memorial for victims of a mass shooting at Monterey Park City Hall, California, the United States, Jan 23, 2023. (Photo: Xinhua)
US District Judge Brian Wimes in Jefferson City, Missouri, has reportedly ruled the state's Second Amendment Preservation Act "unconstitutional", saying it violates the US Constitution's Supremacy Clause. Governor Mike Parson had signed SAPA — which calls some federal gun laws "unconstitutional" because they infringe upon individuals' rights to carry arms — into law in 2021.
The ruling of Justice Wimes has given the law another turn, but nobody knows whether there will be more turns, as Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has promised in a statement about "defending Missourians' fundamental right to bear arms". One can be sure that the struggle for stricter gun control in the United States is going to be a long one.
In reports on the issue, almost all US media outlets mentioned that the judge was a Democrat and the governor Republican. However, the debate on gun control in the US should not be reduced to being one between Republicans and Democrats. Rather, it is a struggle between two philosophies, one dating back to the age of cowboys and the other tied to modern values that every life is precious and should be cherished.
It is also a struggle between two groups, one being the military-industrial complex backed by huge interest groups, and the other being hundreds of millions of US citizens who hope to remain safe, and those around the world who care about lives in the US and elsewhere.
The struggle will be long, as those with vested interests are powerful people holding key positions in Capitol Hill, in powerful agencies and also in media outlets. However, every step forward in the fight for strict gun control should be cherished and the Missouri case is surely a small victory that will lead to bigger ones in the future.
