Missouri’s Republican-controlled state House has voted against banning children from openly carrying guns on public land without adult supervision.
The proposal was defeated by a vote of 104-39, with only one Republican voting to support the ban. The measure was part of a long debate in the House about ways to combat crime, particularly in the St Louis area of the state.
In 2017 lawmakers in the state allowed people to carry concealed firearms in most places without first obtaining a permit.
Democratic Representative Donna Baringer said police in her district had asked for a change in the law to prevent “14-year-olds walking down the middle of the street in the city of St Louis carrying AR-15s.”
“Now they have been emboldened, and they are walking around with them,” Ms Baringer said. “Until they actually brandish them, and brandish them with intent, our police officers’ hands are handcuffed.”
Republicans had called the proposed ban an attack on gun rights.
“While it may be intuitive that a 14-year-old has no legitimate purpose, it doesn’t actually mean that they’re going to harm someone. We don’t know that yet,” said Rep Tony Lovasco, a Republican from the St Louis suburb of O’Fallon.
“Generally speaking, we don’t charge people with crimes because we think they’re going to hurt someone.”
Last year the US Supreme Court ruled in “New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v Bruen” that the Second Amendment generally protects the rights of Americans to carry a handgun outside of their home for self-defence.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
