JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — For state Sen. Karla May, it’s about grace.
During debate on a license reciprocity bill Tuesday evening, May offered an amendment she believed to be in line with the mission of the bill and General Assembly. It said a person’s professional license could not be rescinded for failing to pay child support without due process.
The amendment was defeated in a roll call vote, but a later addition — this time from Republican state Sen. Andrew Koenig — prohibiting an individual from being denied an occupational license simply because of a past criminal offense was successfully attached.
May supported Koenig’s amendment, but the discussion regarding both provisions brought her to tears. And so, when asked if any senator wished to speak, May rose.
The Minority Caucus chairwoman from St. Louis told the Biblical story of Jesus healing a man who had been blind from birth. It’s a story of redemption and grace, she said.
“What’s making me think about [this passage] is this: If you have somebody who has committed a crime, and we said the price for your crime is 10 years, you go and pay that 10 years, but then when you come out, nobody wants to give you grace,” May said in a passionate 10-minute speech. “We don’t want to deal with the fact that these individuals can’t get a job. Nobody will want to hire them because even on the state books it says we’re not going to hire you if you’ve got a felony.”
“We need to evaluate how we minister the scales of justice. Somebody gave us grace, and we’re living in that dispensation of grace right now. Nobody is perfect, and I think this is an excellent amendment because it gives people the opportunity for the second chance to reestablish them in life.”
May said she struggled with wanting to kill HB 2046 but ultimately decided against it. The Senate sent the legislation to Fiscal Oversight where it’s scheduled to be heard Thursday morning.
In an interview with The Missouri Times, May said she became frustrated with the debate surrounding her amendment. She said it was “malicious” for other lawmakers to contend her provision was “something other than due process.”
“Why are we treating people so callously,” May said. “We need to show a little love.”
May’s homily wasn’t something she had planned. She just “knows the Word better than anything else,” she said.
May ended her speech with a challenge to her colleagues: “If it’s good legislation, then we need to do it no matter what title we hold as Republicans or Democrats. Missourians didn’t send us here to be divided; they sent us here to pass good legislation that impacts the lives of Missourians no matter if they’re Democrats or Republicans.”
Lawmakers are back in the capital city to finish out the legislative session with a focus on the state budget and other coronavirus relief efforts. Several bills up in both chambers have grown to include a bevy of other legislation and provisions with the end of this year’s session so near.
Kaitlyn Schallhorn was the editor in chief of The Missouri Times from 2020-2022. She joined the newspaper in early 2019 after working as a reporter for Fox News in New York City.
Throughout her career, Kaitlyn has covered political campaigns across the U.S., including the 2016 presidential election, and humanitarian aid efforts in Africa and the Middle East.
She is a native of Missouri who studied journalism at Winthrop University in South Carolina. She is also an alumna of the National Journalism Center in Washington, D.C.
Contact Kaitlyn at kaitlyn@themissouritimes.com.
