Columbia lawmaker considering bill involving semiautomatic weapons

An attorney who represents Columbia in the Missouri House is considering filing legislation that would ban teens from being able to purchase semiautomatic weapons in Missouri.

State Rep. David Tyson Smith (D-Columbia) made his announcement in a Thursday Twitter post.

18 students and two teachers were killed in this week’s deadly shooting at a rural Texas school. CNN reports the suspect legally purchased two assault rifles and ammunition last week for his 18^th birthday.

Representative Smith serves on the Missouri House Emerging Issues  Committee, which is where that legislation would likely be heard.

State Rep. Chuck Basye (R-Rocheport), who represents part of Columbia and several rural mid-Missouri counties, is opposed to Smith’s idea. He tells our news partner ABC-17 that making it harder for a law-abiding citizen to buy a firearm is not the answer.

“Crooks, criminals, thugs are going to break the law,” Representative Basye tells KMIZ. He adds that “there is no law that can keep this from happening.”