St. Louis, MO – A Missouri judge has struck down a St. Louis ordinance that tried to force gun owners to lock up firearms left in vehicles, dealing a sharp blow to local gun control efforts and delivering a clear win for Second Amendment supporters across the state.
On July 15, Circuit Judge Joseph P. Whyte ruled that the city’s 2017 “unattended vehicle” gun storage law violated Missouri’s state firearm preemption law—a law that reserves all authority to regulate firearms to the state legislature, not local governments.
The now-overturned ordinance required any gun left in a parked car to be locked in a secure, hidden container. Failure to comply came with up to $500 in fines and even jail time. But the court made it clear: city officials can’t make up their own rules when it comes to firearms.
Origin of the Lawsuit
The legal challenge was brought by St. Louis resident Michael Roth, whose 9mm pistol was stolen from his vehicle while he attended Sunday Mass at the Cathedral Basilica. When he reported the theft—doing the right thing—police turned around and cited him under the ordinance for not locking his firearm in a container.
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