The Missouri legislature continues to loosen gun laws each year as our gun violence statistics skyrocket. We're a big state, and as St. Louisans our goal for the moment should be trying get "small government" conservatives in Jefferson City to practice what they preach - local control. We have a gun violence crisis ongoing in St. Louis, and our local elected officials have tools, resources, and policies to address the issue - but their hands are constantly tied by legislators in Jefferson City who want our city to be as much the Wild West our state's most rural counties. This is untenable. Moreover, Missouri does not hold adults responsible when a child accesses a firearm and has no legal requirements for the safe storage of guns.We can no longer expect prosecutors to be creative in holding adults accountable when our child endangerment law is lax. With a background as a preschool teacher and lawyer, I promise to continue Rep. Stacey Newman's gun violence prevention advocacy by working on her child safety legislation until it becomes law.