A viral video shows a social media user warning Missouri residents that a new bill expanding school choice initiatives could make it a “felony” for gun owners to have firearms in their homes if they choose to homeschool their children.
The video, which was shared Wednesday on X, formerly Twitter, by Wall Street Apes, features a social media user by the name of “redneckpatriot88” warning Missouri residents about the potential dangers of Senate Bill 727.
“If you know anybody that lives in the state of Missouri or you currently live in the state of Missouri [and] are liberty minded, you need to be contacting your senators right now and burning up their phone lines,” the man said.
He added, “Some far left-wing group has spent a lot of money in Jefferson City. Senate Bill 727 would redefine what a homeschool is, turn into a public school, but there has been a small catch clause added into it that if you homeschool your children under this catch clause and you have a firearm in the vicinity, it’s an automatic felon[y].”
If passed, Senate Bill 727 would redefine “home school” as a “school” “for purposes of state law.” According to Missouri First, the previous definition of “home school” in Missouri only applied to a limited number of statutes; however, it claimed that the new definition would apply to all state statutes, which could potentially put gun owners at risk of violating laws that prohibit the possession of guns at schools.
One social media user asked Missouri legislators who are supporting Senate Bill 727 if the law would “infringe” on the Second Amendment, while other social media users criticized the school choice bill’s controversial clause, urging lawmakers to remove the clause to avoid unintended consequences.
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While many people have raised concerns regarding the potential implications of Missouri Senate Bill 727, Corey DeAngelis, a senior fellow with the American Federation for Children, shared a letter provided to Republican State Sen. Rick Brattin by research analyst Olivia Shannon.
Asked whether the bill would make it illegal for gun owners to have a firearm in a home where students were being homeschooled, the research analyst told Brattin, “No. SB 727 does not modify any state laws relating to the possession of firearms on school premises. The act will not make it illegal to possess a firearm in a home where students receive home school or FPE school instruction.”
Shannon added, “The act does not modify any state laws relating to weapons offenses.” The research analyst emphasized that the passage of the bill would “not alter” any of the state’s laws regarding the possession of guns at a school or “make it illegal to possess a firearm in a private residence where students receive home school or FPE school instruction.”
