(AP)  The National Rifle Association urged Missouri state senators Wednesday to reject a gun rights bill because of a provision it says could lead to gun owner registry.

In a notice posted of its website, the NRA urged its members to call Missouri lawmakers and tell them to vote “no” on legislation that would seek to nullify some federal gun control laws and jail federal agents for enforcing them. The association cited an amendment approved Tuesday night to the bill that would require gun owners to report a stolen firearm within 72 hours of learning about the theft.

The association said it has opposed similar legislation nationally for years. By requiring gun owners to tell police when firearms are missing, it “seeks to create a de-facto gun owner registry,” the NRA said.

Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, sponsored the provisions, which was added to the bill by a voice vote of the Republican-led Senate. The Senate then gave first-round approval to the measure Tuesday night, but it needs one more vote before moving to the House.

“Sometimes, the NRA, they go to extremes,” Nasheed said. “This way we know how many stolen guns are out on the street for the law enforcement officers.”

The NRA has not weighed in on Missouri’s attempt to nullify federal gun control laws, but broke its silence after the reporting provision was added to the bill.

The organization said Nasheed’s amendment would penalize gun owners for failing to report a stolen firearm with up to a year in prison or a $1,000 fine. While that punishment is not part of Nasheed’s amendment, it is the penalty proscribed by the bill for federal agents who knowingly attempt to enforce federal laws the state considers to be infringements on gun owners.

The measure’s sponsor, Sen. Brian Nieves, said he hadn’t talked with representatives of the NRA, but added that the group’s position on the legislation wouldn’t affect his view. Nieves, R-Washington, did not object to Nasheed’s amendment during debate.

“I wouldn’t raise it on a flagpole and say it’s the greatest thing I’ve ever seen, but I can live with it,” he said Wednesday.

Senate Majority Leader Ron Richard said Missouri’s record on gun rights is stellar.

“We’re the poster child for the second amendment in the country,” said Richard, R-Joplin. “We have a good relationship with the NRA and other gun advocates and I suspect that will continue.”

The measure also would give school districts the option to designate personnel to carry a concealed weapon in school buildings. Another provision of the bill would let holders of concealed gun permits carry firearms openly, even in municipalities with ordinances banning open carry.

Nieves’ legislation would also lower the minimum age to get a concealed weapons permit to 19 from the current age of 21 and would state that health care professionals could not be required to ask or document whether a patient owns a firearm.

If passed, Missouri’s measure would likely face a legal challenge over the attempt to nullify some federal gun control laws. Courts have consistently ruled that states cannot nullify federal laws. Missouri’s Republican-controlled Legislature passed a similar measure last year, but it was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon.

 (AP) – Missouri senators have given final approval to legislation that could give deployed military members and the disabled a chance to get the top spot on the ballot if they run for office.

A bill sent Wednesday to Gov. Jay Nixon addresses the procedures used on the first day of candidate filing, which is Feb. 25.

Missouri law currently uses a random drawing to determine the ballot order for candidates who file on the first day because some candidates believe there is an advantage to being listed first.

The legislation allows a proxy to draw a number for candidates who cannot be present at the secretary of state’s office because they are disabled or are deployed on active military duty.

If Nixon signs the bill, it will take effect immediately.

(AP) — Federal health experts say that new research is not strong enough to conclude that naproxen, the pain reliever in Aleve and many other medications, is safer on the heart than rival drugs used by millions of Americans to treat aches and pains.

The Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted 16-9 against the conclusion that naproxen has a lower risk of heart attack and stroke compared with similar anti-inflammatory medications like ibuprofen, sold as Advil and in other generic formulations.

Debate about whether one drug in the class is safer than others has waged for more than a decade without a clear answer.

The FDA convened the meeting this week to consider new analyses that apparently show lower heart risks for naproxen. But panelists said the data was not conclusive.

 (AP) – The National Park Service says two Civil War battlefields in southwest Missouri will not become part of the national park system.

The results of the park service’s study on the battlefields near Newtonia were released Tuesday.

The Joplin Globe reports the study determined that two battles, in 1862 and 1864, weren’t nationally significant to the outcome of the Civil War. It says both battles have interesting historical themes, but those themes are addressed at sites already under federal or state control.

In the first battle, organized units of Native Americans fought on each side in what was a Confederate victory. In the second battle, Confederate troops led by Maj. Gen. Sterling Price were surprised by Union troops, who forced Price’s group to retreat to Indian Territory.

 (AP) — Missouri is curtailing inspections aimed at people who may illegally use farm diesel fuel in their over-the-road vehicles.

In response to concerns from lawmakers, acting Revenue Department Director John Mollenkamp said Wednesday that his agency would stop proactively looking for violations of the diesel fuel law and only respond to requests from law enforcement officials.

The Revenue Department had been doing random inspections to see whether dyed fuel was being used in vehicles driven on highways.

Republican Sen. Mike Parson, a former Polk County sheriff, has called the program an unreasonable search of private property.

( AP)  A 28-year-old woman is facing a rare criminal charge in Missouri – bigamy.

The Daily Journal newspaper in Park Hills, Mo., reports that Michelle Sykes was charged with the misdemeanor on Tuesday. Authorities say bigamy charges are rarely filed because, while people sometimes marry more than one spouse, it is not often reported.

St. Francois County prosecutors say Sykes was married in the county in 2010. In December, her husband told deputies he had recently discovered that she had married in 2008 in St. Clair County, Ill., and was apparently still married to that man, too.

St. Francois County prosecutor Jerrod Mahurin says the 2008 marriage would nullify the union made in Missouri.

U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) co-sponsored the “Stop Targeting of Political Beliefs by the IRS Act” (S. 2011), which was introduced today by U.S. Senators Jeff Flake (Ariz.) and Pat Roberts (Kan.) and is co-sponsored by 36 additional senators.

The bill would protect the free-speech rights of 501(c)(4) organizations by prohibiting for one year the finalization of a proposed Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulation that would significantly limit the advocacy and educational activities of these groups. The bill would also prevent additional targeting of 501(c)(4) organizations by restoring the IRS 501(c)(4) standards and definitions that were in place before the start of the agency’s targeting of conservative groups in 2010.

“People in Missouri and across the country are rightly concerned about government overreach and political targeting that we’ve witnessed under this administration,” Blunt said. “I’m fighting for more transparency and accountability in Washington, and I’m pleased to join Senators Flake and Roberts in this effort to protect Americans’ First Amendment rights.”

Background:

On November 29, 2013, the Department of Treasury published a proposed IRS rule that would broadly define 501(c)(4) political activity to include voter registration, voter education, communications that mention a candidate or party, grants to 527s, and events in which a candidate participates, among other activities. Even non-partisan activities would be limited. The regulations specifically single out 501(c)(4) organizations, and do not apply to other nonprofit organizations such as charities, labor unions or trade associations.

The administration has already faced harsh criticism for earlier attempts by the IRS to target these same organizations. On May 14, 2013, the Treasury’s inspector general for tax administration released a report finding that the IRS had inappropriately targeted and applied excessive scrutiny to the applications of conservative groups applying for 501(c)(4) tax-exempt status. Several IRS employees, including the acting commissioner, resigned as a result of the scandal. Investigations by the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the Department of Justice are ongoing.