FIRST REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
0517L.04C D. ADAM CRUMBLISS, Chief Clerk
JOINT RESOLUTION
Submitting to the qualified voters of Missouri an amendment repealing section 23 of article I of the Constitution of Missouri, and adopting one new section in lieu thereof relating to the right to bear arms.
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring therein:
That at the next general election to be held in the state of Missouri, on Tuesday next following the first Monday in November, 2014, or at a special election to be called by the governor for that purpose, there is hereby submitted to the qualified voters of this state, for adoption or rejection, the following amendment to article I of the Constitution of the state of Missouri:
Section A. Section 23, article I, Constitution of Missouri, is repealed and one new section adopted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 23, to read as follows:
Section 23. That the right of every citizen to keep and bear arms in defense of his home, person, family and property, or when lawfully summoned in aid of the civil power, shall not be questioned[; but this shall not justify the wearing of concealed weapons]. The right of every citizen to possess, purchase, reload, or manufacture ammunition and to possess, purchase, or manufacture mechanical parts or other articles essential to the proper functioning of arms shall not be infringed or the amounts limited. No state tax or charge in excess of that imposed by law on sales at retail of tangible personal property nor federal tax or charge shall be imposed on the purchase, possession, or manufacture of such ammunition or parts. The rights guaranteed by this section shall be unalienable. The state of Missouri shall be obligated to uphold these rights and shall under no circumstances decline to protect against their infringement.
Section B. Pursuant to chapter 116, and other applicable constitutional provisions and laws of the this state allowing the general assembly to adopt ballot language for the submission of this act to the voters of this state, the official ballot title of this act shall be as follows:
"Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to include a declaration that the right to keep and bear arms is a unalienable right, that the state government is obligated to uphold that right, and that every citizen is guaranteed the right to possess, purchase, and manufacture firearms, parts, and ammunition?".
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