KSHB 41 reporter Alyssa Jackson covers Kansas City, Missouri. She began looking through bills pre-filed by Missouri lawmakers before the upcoming 2026 session. She found one bill that could have an effect on violence among teens in the state. Share your story idea with Alyssa.
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Missouri lawmakers were able to start pre-filing legislation this week.
The Missouri General Assembly is about a month from the start of the 2026 legislative session. Lawmakers have pre-filed 631 bills and more are expected.
Kansas City reporter Alyssa Jackson has been tracking legislation that could have an impact on teens across the state.
House Bill 1806, drafted by Missouri House Rep. Mark Sharp, makes it a Class D misdemeanor for minors convicted of possessing a firearm. The proposed bill also would allow law enforcement to confiscate the weapon.
"The inspiration behind this bill is trying to make sure our juvenile population, specifically in Kansas City, is safe," Rep. Sharp said.
Rep. Sharp will not run again. In his final term, gun legislation like HB 1806 is top of mind.
He said the bill aims to rectify the impact of loose carry laws the legislature passed in 2016.
"Too many instances where law enforcement can see the print of a firearm being concealed, but lack a citation to be able to do anything about it," Sharp said.
Missouri's constitutional carry law has directly correlated with crime in KCMO, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson. The state currently lacks a law that criminalizes a juvenile carrying a firearm.
Johnson said: "That is when we really started to see our community suffer 130 homicides, up to 140 homicides, up to now in 2023, our most deadly year —183 homicides."
Data from the Kansas City Missouri Police Department shows minors are responsible for 8% of this year's homicides.
"8% might seem small. The fact that 8% of the homicides have occurred involving a juvenile...that is a statistic that should make us all sit up," Johnson said. "If we're gonna talk about public safety, if we're gonna talk about crime reduction, we have to talk about gun laws."
Rep. Sharp will be looking for bipartisan support — keeping in mind what it took to penalize celebratory gunfire in Missouri with Blair's Law.
"It took 10 years to pass Blair's law," Sharp said. "I hope it doesn't take that long to pass other lifesaving measures. It’s going to have a tough time getting traction because there’s a lot of folks who are going to say 'shall not infringe,' but I think we can still make common ground with those folks."
Rep. Sharp is drafting another public safety law that would ban "Glock switches."
The Missouri General Assembly's 2026 session starts January 7.
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