Missouri lawmakers vow to go after carjackers, but not guns

(AP) Republican legislators and Republican Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt have laid out legislative priorities for 2020 aimed at fighting violent urban crime, but they’re making it clear that those priorities don’t include stricter gun laws.

Legislative leaders said Tuesday that they’ll push for strengthening Missouri’s carjacking statute and removing the requirement that forces St. Louis police officers to live in the city in hopes of boosting officer recruitment and retention.

But at a news conference in St. Louis, Senate Pro Tem Dave Schatz said any law that would take “guns out of law-abiding citizens’ hands” won’t be considered.

St. Louis, Kansas City and Springfield all have seen spikes in gun crimes and homicides in recent years. More than a dozen children have been fatally shot in St. Louis this year.