Cape Girardeau city officials, police share stances on SAPA

Editor's note: This story has been updated.

Fourteen months after state lawmakers approved a measure aimed at stopping enforcement of federal gun laws in the state, local thoughts on the law remain mixed.

Cape Girardeau Mayor Stacy Kinder noted effects of the Second Amendment Preservation Act in her recent State of the City address. Regarding the law making it a crime punishable by a fine and jail term to enforce federal gun laws, Kinder contended the law is hindering local law enforcement.

"Historically here in Cape Girardeau, the majority of our success in combating gun crimes has been through federal charges, and the cooperation we've had with federal task forces. Our department here has had to remove officers from those federal task forces as a result of this bill," she said. "The premise of this legislation was that Missourians needed protection from a federal government that was coming to take away our guns. In my opinion, rising populism legislated under the guise of conservatism is having a very negative impact on our ability to keep our community safe from some very dangerous people."

Kinder explained the law can also bring about fines up to $50,000 on police departments if they partner with the FBI, U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency or the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Cape Girardeau has removed officers from the federal task forces of those institutions.

In a social media post video of a conversation between Kinder and Cape Girardeau Police Chief Wes Blair, provided by municipal spokeswoman Nicolette Brennan, the chief said the department has experienced success in putting felons away in the federal prison system by working with the federal government in gun cases and some legislation, including the preservation act, has made it difficult for the department to pursue cases.

"We try to think of ways to work around that, and we advocate with our legislators on a routine basis to try to get laws that are law enforcement-friendly," Blair said.

A statement from the department said department officials believe "SAPA is not going away anytime soon, if at all, so we are just working as best we can to adapt to this new reality. The ShotSpotter system is a big help with that. It has directly attributed to 8 arrests -- as well as the confiscation of three firearms."

ShotSpotter is a system that tracks potential shots fired in certain areas of the city.

Missouri is one of 19 so-called "Second Amendment Sanctuary" states, which passed SAPA into law.

Cape Girardeau County Sheriff Ruth Ann Dickerson indicated she has no qualm with the law.

"The Second Amendment Preservation Act was a strong message to the federal government that Missouri will not infringe on the people's rights under the Constitution," she contended. "I and my officers' oath to the citizens of Cape Girardeau County are to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Missouri. We will continue to uphold our oath and protect the rights of 'law-abiding' citizens. We do not keep the statistics on the number of federal gun crimes in Southeast Missouri."

Beau Nations contributed reporting to this article.