Missouri law does not:

• Prohibit individuals convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors from purchasing or possessing firearms or ammunition, unlike federal law ;
• Prohibit individuals subject to domestic violence protective orders from possessing firearms or ammunition, unlike federal law ;
• Require courts to notify people when they become prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under state or federal law due to domestic violence;
• Require the surrender of firearms or ammunition by people who have become prohibited from possessing them under state or federal law due to domestic violence; or
• Explicitly authorize or require the removal of firearms or ammunition at the scene of a domestic violence incident.¹

While federal law prohibits people from possessing guns who have been convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors or are subject to protective orders, a law passed in Missouri in 2021 – the so-called “Second Amendment Preservation Act (SAPA)” – subjects local and state law enforcement officers to fines of $50,000 for helping to enforce a federal gun law.² Accordingly, law enforcement in the state are no longer enforcing federal gun laws including laws that keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers. On March 7, 2023, a federal court declared SAPA unconstitutional but has allowed the law to stay in effect pending appeals.³

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1. For prohibitions on obtaining a concealed carry endorsement due to a domestic violence order of protection, see the Concealed Weapons Permitting in Missouri page.[↩]
2. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 1.410 et. seq.[↩]
3. USA v. State of Missouri, Case No. 2:22-CV-04022-BCW (March 7, 2023).[↩]