Missouri court considers ban on intoxicated gun possession

JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri wants the state Supreme Court to allow enforcement of a state law banning intoxicated people from possessing guns.

A Mississippi County judge ruled in 2008 that it was unconstitutional to bar intoxicated people from possessing a gun in their own homes. That ruling tossed out a case against a southeast Missouri man who threatened to shoot himself or make police do it after his wife said she was leaving.

Court records say John L. Richard took morphine and another medication, and police found him unconscious in a chair with the gun.

The attorney general's office argued Wednesday that the state has a legitimate interest in preventing intoxicated people from carrying guns. A public defender says the right to have guns is fundamental and the intoxication ban is too broad.