The Star asked the Missouri Influencer panel to respond to two questions about gun control and gun rights.
▪ What’s the most important change that should be made in Missouri gun laws, and why?
Kay Barnes, former mayor of Kansas City, senior director for university engagement at Park University: “An appropriate place to start is banning the sales of assault-type rifles.”
Luis Cordoba, Kansas City Public Schools’ chief student support and intervention officer: “I believe that the root of the debate lies in a single sentence in the U.S. Constitution, where the Second Amendment says: ‘A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.’ I am not an attorney and don’t know what can be done to make amendments to this single sentence, but feel we need to begin there. I would assume that back in the days when the U.S. Constitution was written, we did not take into account the issues of violent criminals, people who suffer from a mental illness, and more.”
Jane Dueker, lawyer, radio host and former political adviser: “Universal background checks for all gun purchases. That should be the easiest thing to do. ... One of the challenges with an assault ban is describing the weapons that would be banned. I am concerned that the grip of the NRA in this state is so strong that any perceived restriction on the unfettered right to easily secure any machine resembling a gun will be rejected by our state legislature.”
Crosby Kemper III, director of Kansas City Public Library, co-founder of Show-Me Institute: “Banning bump stocks and high capacity magazines would be
