Under the Dome – Gun Violence Culpability and Majority Rule
![Under the Dome graphic with Missouri State Capitol Dome in background](https://progressmo.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/UNDER-THE-DOME.png)
Welcome back to Under the Dome, your weekly update on the goings-on of the Missouri state legislature.
Extremist politicians take a break from lying about majority rule to lie about gun violence culpability
Missouri politicians took a mid-week break from dismantling democracy as we know it to celebrate Super Bowl champions the Kansas City Chiefs. When violence broke out in downtown KC – leaving one dead and at least 23 shot – they then doubled down that guns are not the problem in Missouri – instead blaming “thugs.”
The problem? You can dehumanize someone by calling them a “thug,” but those thugs can still get guns and conceal them with ease.
As reported in the Kansas City Star, Missouri law allows people to carry concealed weapons without a permit. In recent years, lawmakers have lowered the age to have a concealed weapon to 19. And cities and counties are severely restrained in their power to set their own firearms regulations.
Before even getting to prayers and casseroles, Sen. Bill Eigel, a Weldon Springs Republican, said “liberal gun grabbers” would not prevail. “NOT IN MISSOURI,” he wrote. Thankfully for the rest of us, MISSOURI DOES NOT BELONG TO BILL EIGEL. It belongs to the people of this state, and we can unite to demand sensible gun laws that could make tragedies like occurred Wednesday less likely to happen.
Ballot candy = blatant trickery
Meanwhile, Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman gave initiative petition supporters the gift that keeps giving when she said out loud a truth that most politicians would keep quiet: she conceded that “there is absolutely ballot candy” in her resolution to end majority rule in Missouri and strip citizens of their rights.
Her resolution was criticized on the Senate floor for using “ballot candy” to attract voters because it also asks voters to forbid foreign citizens from voting in U.S. elections, SOMETHING ALREADY FORBIDDEN.
As shared with ABC17, everyone knows why this resolution is loaded with ballot candy. Missourians hate these plans to end majority rule. Politicians are going to try every trick they can to distract and confuse us from their real agenda.Efforts stalled on moving Coleman’s measure forward, but the debate will continue next week. How does her resolution end majority rule? An analysis of voting patterns by The Missouri Independent shows that using congressional districts for the concurrent majority requirement means as few as 23% of voters could defeat a measure that has otherwise overwhelming support. That is half the vote in four of the state’s eight congressional districts.
Make your voice heard
Over 1,300 Missourians have already written their legislators demanding that they block SJR74 and any other attempts to end majority rule. Add your voice to demand that they protect “one person, one vote” in Missouri!