Mo. bill would outlaw gun control bills

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., Feb. 19 (UPI) -- A Missouri lawmaker has introduced a bill making it a felony to propose restrictions on "the right of an individual to bear arms" but he doubts it will pass.

State Rep. Mike Leara, a St. Louis Republican, said Tuesday he introduced House Bill No. 633 "as a matter of principle and as a statement in defense of the Second Amendment rights of all Missourians."

His legislation states: "Any member of the General Assembly who proposes a piece of legislation that further restricts the right of an individual to bear arms, as set forth under the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, shall be guilty of a class D felony."

In a statement issued Tuesday to the liberal Talking Points Memo website, Leara said he doubts the bill will be enacted.

"I have no illusions about the bill making it through the legislative process," he said. "but I want it to be clear that the Missouri House will stand in defense of the people's Constitutional right to keep and bear arms."