93.9 The Eagle – The News and Talk of Columbia, MO
A well-known Missouri House Democrat intends to pre-file legislation again in December that would prohibit the selling or purchasing of semi-automatic and fully automatic firearms by anyone under the age of 20.
State Rep. David Tyson Smith, an attorney who serves on the House Judiciary Committee, joined us live in-studio on 939 the Eagle’s “Wake Up Mid-Missouri.”
“If you look at some of these tragic shootings whether it be the Uvalde massacre, there was a shooting in Buffalo, New York and even close to home in St. Louis, it was a teenager who went out and lawfully bought an AR-15, several boxes of ammo and then went out and murdered people. I don’t think teenagers need to be doing that. You have to be 21 to buy a handgun, right. So why can a teenager go out and buy an AK-47,” Smith tells listeners.
Representative Smith’s House Bill 208 was referred to the Missouri House Emerging Issues Committee on May 12, which was the 2023 session’s final day in Jefferson City. The bill never received a hearing in the House.
Meantime, Smith says the transgender issue is being used as a “wedge” issue by Republicans in Jefferson City. He says more than 40 percent of his constituents are Republicans.
“They’re not talking about this. People care about roads. You know, there was talk that they’re (MoDOT) going to close exit 128 and a lot of people got upset because that affects a lot of the businesses on the Business Loop,” says Smith.
Representative Smith tells listeners he would like to see the Missouri Legislature focus less on transgender issues and more on issues like transportation, education, election integrity and criminal justice reform. You can hear the full “Wake Up Mid-Missouri” interview with Representative Smith here.
