JEFFERSON CITY – Senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal (D-University City) issued the following statement in regards to the Missouri Supreme Court’s decision in William David Hill v. Oliver “Glenn” Boyer, Sheriff of Jefferson County, Missouri:
“The Supreme Court’s decision in Hill vs. Boyer today goes against every aspect of equity held dear in the State of Missouri. While I agree David Hill should not have been provided a conceal carry permit, the Court has established a doctrine of prospective versus retrospective justice in cases when the Missouri Constitution would be applied.
I am not aware of a single theory of justice that incorporates a zero-hour approach to uniform law, except for a provision establishing a fictitious gun right in Missouri.
The Supreme Court has not only side-stepped a decision that could have limited access to guns by potentially dangerous people, it also failed to address whether an ill-conceived amendment expanding this fiction is legal.
Courts have maintained their ability to limit the scope of arguments for a long time, and the freedom of each branch of government to establish its own agenda is well-respected and should be supported. But when given the opportunity to lead and set a path for which the future of our well-respected institutions may be guided, we can’t sit in silence. Today’s decision failed to address the merits of gun policy and protections the Legislature has forced on its citizenry.
The establishment of a duality of due process through the institutions of justice is what led to unrest in Ferguson, and the rest of the United States. Maybe I should congratulate you for saying what every African-American has known to be true.
The Missouri Supreme Court has just established an Orwellian democracy in Missouri: Some are more equal than others.”