Submitted by Aidan Johnston of Gun Owners of America,

The Department of Justice under Attorney General Pam Bondi has continued to attack Missouri's Second Amendment Preservation Act (SAPA), treating it much the same way the Biden administration did. That decision is striking, because it puts Bondi's DOJ at odds with both the text of the Constitution and President Trump's own executive order directing agencies to protect Second Amendment rights.

Missouri's SAPA, enacted in 2021, was the state's effort to ensure that its officers and resources would not be used to enforce federal gun control measures that exceed constitutional limits. The law prohibits state officials from enforcing certain federal firearms statutes and penalizes agencies that cooperate with them. At its core, the SAPA reflects a well-established principle: the federal government may not commandeer state officials to carry out federal policy.

The Supreme Court has confirmed that principle repeatedly. In cases involving firearms, immigration, environmental regulations, and even marijuana enforcement, the Court has recognized that Washington cannot force state legislatures or police to implement federal priorities. Missouri applied that same reasoning to firearms, instructing its law enforcement officers to focus on state law rather than federal regulations.

Bondi's DOJ, however, has treated Missouri's SAPA as though it were an act of nullification. In court filings, the Department has insisted that Missouri cannot insulate itself from federal gun laws and has sought to strike down the statute entirely. The irony is obvious. In our amicus briefs to defend the Missouri law, GOA has repeatedly pointed out that the SAPA does not prevent federal agents from enforcing federal law. It simply says Missouri's officers will not be conscripted to help. That is a crucial distinction, and it is one with strong constitutional backing.

The problem is not just the legal position DOJ has taken, but the continuity it represents. President Trump campaigned on restoring Second Amendment rights and ordered his agencies to review and roll back infringements. Yet Bondi's DOJ is still carrying forward the same arguments the Biden administration made, undermining a state law designed to protect gun rights. It is difficult to reconcile those courtroom filings with the administration's broader promises.

The implications extend beyond firearms. If DOJ succeeds in invalidating Missouri's SAPA, the precedent could weaken states' ability to resist federal overreach in other contexts. It would signal that Washington can not only impose its own rules but also force states to spend their resources enforcing them. That undermines both the Second Amendment and the Tenth Amendment.

For Missouri gun owners, the stakes are high. The SAPA was intended to ensure that local police would not be drawn into federal prosecutions targeting law-abiding citizens. Without it, Missourians risk seeing their own state and local agencies used to advance federal policies that many in the state reject as unconstitutional.

Pam Bondi's DOJ has a choice. Nothing compels the Department to continue down the path set by its predecessors. By pressing forward with the Biden administration's litigation strategy, it is not defending federal supremacy—it is eroding the balance of federalism that protects both state autonomy and individual rights.

Missouri's law is a legitimate assertion of state authority in a constitutional system that depends on checks and balances. DOJ's decision to attack it reflexively, rather than respecting the boundaries Congress and the Constitution established, sends the wrong message—to states, to courts, and to the millions of Americans who believed this administration would be different.

If the Trump administration is to fulfill its pledge of being the most pro–Second Amendment in history, that requires more than speeches. It requires ensuring that the Department of Justice under Pam Bondi does not undercut states when they act to safeguard constitutional rights. On Missouri's SAPA, that responsibility has not yet been met.

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