The push for a special gun court in St. Louis is likely on its way to Jefferson City.
Law enforcement, prosecutors, and politicians attending the Urban Crime Summit in St. Louis Thursday said they will not let the plan die.
City judges voted Monday 16-11 against adopting an Armed Offender Docket in St. Louis.
But the message during the Urban Crime Summit was clear, judges should either get on board or they can expect a law will be passed requiring them to do so.
Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster, who organized the summit, said supporters of a gun court hope judges will participate and move forward.
"But if they don’t, then it will inevitably be thrown back in the hands of policy makers to decide the situation and that means casting the decision into the state legislature," Koster warned.
State Senator JamilahNasheed, a St. Louis Democrat, says she will fight hard for the plan during this year’s legislative session.
She acknowledged, though, that it could be a tough sell to the Republican majority, many of whom are from rural areas.
"We’re not trying to take anyone’s Second Amendment rights," Nasheed said. "The difference between outstate and rural areas, they hunt animals. In the city of St. Louis, the people with guns hunt humans."
Nasheed said Republican Senator Eric Schmitt will carry the bill for a second session in a row.
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