By Susan Duclos
A Missouri state judge has issued a temporary restraining order ( TRO ) against the Missouri Department of Revenue, to prevent them from an end run around the constitution to collect information which would be a de facto gun registration.
Missouri’s Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder went on The Dana Show to explain an attempt by Obama's DHS to collect information on residents, via Missouri's Department of Revenue, which violates several Missouri state statutes.
Department of Revenue is working with the Department of Homeland Security to install new hard and software to obtain data on Missouri citizens and transfer this information to DHS and unnamed third parties, says Kinder. Kinder and the Stoddard County Prosceutor today took legal action and held a press conference outlining the infringement on civil liberties as posted by the DoR and DHS. The move by the departments is related to the Real ID.
Griffin went to renew his driver’s license and was disturbed by how, and with whom, his information was being shared. Kinder and other lawmakers say that the move violates several Missouri state statutes. Because license offices process CCW endorsements, some claim that this is de facto gun registration.
Kinder's office issued a statement, via his website.
Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder backs fee office
lawsuit in Stoddard County
Legal action taken against fee offices over privacy concerns
JEFFERSON CITY – Lt. Governor Peter Kinder today hosted a press conference in the Capitol to announce a lawsuit filed over the collection and scanning of private documents by the Missouri Department of Revenue for residents seeking concealed carry gun permits.
The lawsuit was filed Monday by Russ Oliver in Stoddard County. Oliver is Stoddard County’s prosecuting attorney. He filed the lawsuit as a private attorney on behalf of Eric Griffin.
“I fully support Mr. Oliver in this important legal action in Stoddard County Circuit Court,” Kinder said. “This case has issues of statewide importance implicating serious privacy concerns for law-abiding citizens. These folks have followed the letter of the law and been approved for concealed carry by the proper authorities. They must not be required to share that information with any third parties or the federal government.”
Oliver said Mr. Griffin went to his local Department of Motor Vehicles fee office after passing the application process for a concealed carry gun permit. When he refused to let DMV employees scan some of his documentation, he was denied the permit.
Oliver said Griffin acted within his rights. He said the Department of Revenue apparently installed new computer equipment to record the information as part of the federal Real ID Act of 2005.
But state laws prohibit the department from retaining and collecting these types of documents and from complying with that portion of the Real ID Act. The data the DOR collected was being forwarded to Morpho Trust U.S.A., a Georgia company that specializes in partnering with state and federal governmental agencies.
“There are important privacy concerns for concealed carry holders who justly fear their information being sent to a third party or the federal government,” Oliver said. “Missouri law makes it clear that what is going on here is illegal, and serves no legitimate purpose since the county sheriff is solely charged with the duty of determining applicants’ eligibility for the endorsement.”
The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order to stop the Department of Revenue from collecting and sharing the private data and declare their actions unlawful.
The TRO has been granted .
Judge Robert N. Mayer from the 35th Judicial Circuit in Missouri signed a temporary restraining order this afternoon at 4 p.m. stating that the defendant, Elizabeth Rowland, Stoddard County Fee Office Agent, has “no legitimate purpose in disclosure of this protected personal information to the Federal Government,” according to the restraining order.
The restraining order states that Rowland has been restrained and enjoined from collecting and retaining the birth certificate, residency documents and application of the Plaintiff, Eric Griffin, as well as any other citizen of Stoddard County, as well as the dissemination of that documentation to the federal government.
The preliminary injunction hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m., March 12.
The Dana Show has the TRO, page one here, and page two here.
H/T @thomassfl via email.
