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While Republicans who favor keeping the state’s permissive gun laws intact offered prayers for the students, staff and families at Central and Collegiate high schools, Democratic elected officials called for toughening the state’s loose firearms regulations.

Police say 19-year-old Orlando Harris, who graduated from Central last year, fatally shot student Alexzandria Bell, 15, and teacher Jean Kuczka, 61. His gun reportedly jammed, giving some students time to take shelter and escape, and police ultimately shot and killed him.

Among those urging action was Rep. LaKeySha Bosley, D-St. Louis.

“As legislators, we have a responsibility to stop perpetuating the policies that enable violent offenders to have unfettered access to firearms and ammunition,� said Bosley, who has advocated for the licensing of vendors who sell bullets.

Democrats, however, are the minority party in both the House and Senate, giving Republicans the power to keep gun control measures off the agenda in the Capitol.

GOP lawmakers have a reliable ally in Gov. Mike Parson, a former county sheriff who, as a senator, sponsored legislation expanding the rights of people to use deadly force in defense of their own property.

Parson is tentatively scheduled to go to St. Louis on Thursday to meet and thank police who were involved in Tuesday’s shooting. A spokeswoman said he spoke with city officials and local lawmakers in the wake of the attack on Monday.

Guns are baked into Republican Party politics in Missouri, with candidates routinely raffling off firearms as part of their fundraising operations.

In 2016, lawmakers all but erased most gun control efforts by legalizing the concealed carry of a weapon without a permit. In doing so, they also removed requirements for gun safety training classes and criminal background checks.

In June, Parson signaled he wasn’t in favor of a federal grant program that would help states enforce or enact “red flag� laws that let police get court orders in order to temporarily take guns from people deemed dangerous.

Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have such statutes, but Missouri is not one of them.

“I just don’t want them tying my hands on what we do here in Missouri,� Parson told the Post-Dispatch at the time.

In 2020, Parson also outlined his opposition to the concept, saying he did not support taking away guns from domestic abusers because it would infringe on an individual’s rights under the Second Amendment.

Parson also backed the state’s Second Amendment Preservation Act, which he signed into law at a Lee’s Summit gun store in 2021.

Under the act, any law that prohibits a “law-abiding citizen� from possessing and using a gun is an infringement on their rights, and any federal law will not be recognized or enforced in Missouri. The law defines a “law-abiding citizen� as anyone who is not prohibited from having guns under state laws.

Although SAPA is being challenged in court, its existence signals how the Republican-controlled state House and Senate will likely react to any federal firearms mandates.

Democrats, however, are vowing to keep the shooting at the forefront when they return for their regular session in January.

Rep. Rasheen Aldridge, D-St. Louis, said the Legislature must act.

“We must pass laws that will prevent tragedies like today, not enable or exacerbate them,� Aldridge said.