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Category: Limited Government

Freedom Center Files Eighth Circuit Brief Defending Second Amendment Preservation Act

Freedom Center Files Eighth Circuit Brief Defending Second Amendment Preservation Act

The Freedom Center of Missouri has long been at the forefront of the battle to preserve citizens’ right to keep and bear arms. We helped draft the amendment voters adopted in 2014 to broaden the right of self-defense enshrined in Article I, section 23 of the Missouri Constitution. We helped draft the Second Amendment Preservation Act (SAPA) that the state legislature passed and the governor signed in 2021 – this law prohibits state and local officials from assisting in the…

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Freedom Center on the Cowboy & Judge Show

Freedom Center on the Cowboy & Judge Show

The Freedom Center of Missouri’s Director of Litigation, Dave Roland, recently sat down for an interview with the Cowboy & Judge show on ABC30 in St. Louis. This wide-ranging conversation covers the organization’s perspective on individual liberty, its relationship to Dave’s religious background, and the challenges inherent in doing high-level public interest litigation.

Federal Judge: City may limit Good Samaritans’ ability to feed the homeless

Federal Judge: City may limit Good Samaritans’ ability to feed the homeless

A federal judge in St. Louis has ruled that St. Louis may punish Good Samaritans for providing meals to the homeless unless those Good Samaritans first comply with the same costly and burdensome regulations that govern restaurants and grocery stores. The plaintiffs, Pastor Ray Redlich and his colleague, Chris Ohnimus, regularly seek out hungry neighbors on the streets of St. Louis, obeying their Christian faith’s command to provide food to those in need. As Ray and Chris told the court,…

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St. Louis Lawsuit Against Second Amendment Preservation Act is Totally Baseless

St. Louis Lawsuit Against Second Amendment Preservation Act is Totally Baseless

The Missouri state legislature recently passed (and Governor Parson quickly signed) HB 85, the Second Amendment Preservation Act, a bill designed to ensure that state and local law enforcement in Missouri are focused on enforcing gun laws passed by our own lawmakers in Jefferson City, not the folks in Washington, DC. Opponents of this bill have loudly and repeatedly claimed that SAPA is unconstitutional… but most have declined to offer any legal analysis that would actually support these claims. At…

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NEW CASE: Freedom Center Challenges St. Louis City’s Requirement That Political Candidates Must Own Private Property

NEW CASE: Freedom Center Challenges St. Louis City’s Requirement That Political Candidates Must Own Private Property

As seems to happen every few years, candidates for political office are once again trying to knock their opponents off the ballot – this time for the Democratic Primary for nomination to serve on the St. Louis City Board of Aldermen. In one particular case, incumbent Third Ward Alderman Brandon Bosley is arguing that his opponent, Herdosia Bentum, should be removed from the ballot either because she has not for the past two years been an “assessed taxpayer of the city” or…

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NEW CASE: Government Watchdog Sues City for Banning Her From City Hall

NEW CASE: Government Watchdog Sues City for Banning Her From City Hall

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                                                      CONTACT:               Dave Roland November 10, 2020                                                                                          (314) 604-6621 Government Watchdog Sues City for Banning Her From City Hall Mexico, Missouri—Rebecca Varney worked so hard to keep the local government in Edgar Springs, Missouri, transparent and accountable to the community that the government banned her from City Hall. In a new lawsuit filed by the Freedom Center of Missouri, Varney has decided to fight “City Hall” for the right to…

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Missouri Courts Must Uphold Citizens’ Right to Possess Firearms for Defensive Purposes

Missouri Courts Must Uphold Citizens’ Right to Possess Firearms for Defensive Purposes

In 2014, Missouri voters passed Amendment 5, which updated Article I, Section 23 of the Missouri Constitution, which protects “the right of every citizen to keep and bear arms, ammunition, and accessories typical to the normal function of such arms, in defense of his home, person, family and property[.]” The amendment was explicitly designed to give this right the most extensive protections possible, requiring courts to subject to “strict scrutiny” any restriction on citizens’ rights of self-defense, and obligating the…

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U.S. Supreme Court Will Consider Whether to Review Suspicionless Stops Case [[UPDATED]]

U.S. Supreme Court Will Consider Whether to Review Suspicionless Stops Case [[UPDATED]]

On June 3, 2013, Ron Calzone was driving his farm truck to gather gravel for his daughter’s chicken coop when a Missouri State Highway Patrol officer pulled him over. Had Calzone been speeding? Did he change lanes improperly? No. The officer admitted that he had not observed any violation of the law. So why had he pulled Calzone over? Because he could. Missouri law authorizes highway patrol officers to stop and inspect almost any kind of vehicle on Missouri’s highways…

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Eighth Circuit: Farmers Surrender Fourth Amendment Rights When Driving Their Own Trucks

Eighth Circuit: Farmers Surrender Fourth Amendment Rights When Driving Their Own Trucks

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                                         CONTACT: Dave Roland July 26, 2019                                                                                          (573) 567-0307 Eighth Circuit: Farmers Surrender Fourth Amendment Rights When Driving Their Own Trucks Mexico, Missouri—Today a three-judge panel of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a person surrenders their Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures simply by getting behind the wheel of any vehicle the state defines as a “commercial vehicle” – and that this applies to farmers who…

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Eighth Circuit Refuses to Address Constitutionality of Turf Grass Mandate

Eighth Circuit Refuses to Address Constitutionality of Turf Grass Mandate

BLOOMING RIDICULOUS: Eighth Circuit Refuses to Address Constitutionality of City Ordinance Forcing Widow with Grass Allergy to Grow Turf Grass Mexico, Missouri—Today a three-judge panel of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals refused to address the question of whether a St. Louis suburb can force Janice Duffner to devote at least half of her yard to growing the very plant that makes her sick. The court also refused to address the question of whether the city could punish Mrs. Duffner…

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