The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives says it only needs zoning information from four people who want to start gun stores. Camden County has stated that it will not cooperate.
Six Camden County, Missouri, elected officials are refusing to cooperate with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, alleging the agency is unconstitutional.
Agents with the ATF said they need zoning information in order to finalize applications for four people who want to start gun stores in Camden County, roughly 250 miles southeast of Kansas City.
Camden County presiding commissioner Ike Skelton cited a local rule prohibiting county personnel from collaborating with the ATF in a letter to the ATF office in Kansas City.
“Under the Anti-Commandeering Doctrine, Camden County was the first county in Missouri, and possibly in the country, to pass an ordinance prohibiting any county employee from assisting your unconstitutional agency in violating the rights of our citizens,” Skelton wrote.
The letter was signed by Skelton’s two commission colleagues plus County Attorney Jeff Green, Sheriff Tony Helms and County Treasurer Kendra Hicks.
“We are in lockstep with this thought process,” Skelton told KCUR. “Any and all federal firearms laws, so-called laws, in my opinion, and many others’ opinion, are unconstitutional.”
In the case of Camden County, ATF spokesperson Jon Ham says the agency is attempting to assist people in opening gun stores rather than taking them away.
According to Ham, federal law requires the ATF to check on municipal zoning and other rules before giving a Federal Firearms License. The ATF must ensure that no gun store is established on land zoned for homes.
“We use that information to put people in business, not to take people out of business,” Ham said.
According to Ham, he has never seen a county in the four states covered by the Kansas City Field Office refuse to submit this type of information. He believes it may jeopardize ATF’s ability to grant the federal license required to get these four enterprises up and operating.
Missouri’s Second Amendment Preservation Act, enacted into law in 2021, allows citizens to sue Missouri police if they believe federal rules have harmed their gun rights.
A federal judge determined last month that the statute, known as SAPA, was unconstitutional and violated the premise that federal law supersedes state law.
According to U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes, the Missouri statute is an “unconstitutional (violation of) federal law and is designed to be just that.”
“SAPA exposes citizens to greater harm by interfering with the Federal Government’s ability to enforce lawfully enacted firearm regulations designed by Congress for the purpose of protecting citizens with the limits of the Constitution.”
The law is currently still in effect while the state appeals to Wimes’ decision.