Show notes
UMKC Constitutional Law Professor Allen Rostron1 discusses major policy changes mandated by President Trump since his second inauguration with Radio Active Magazine regulars Spencer Graves and Craig Lubow. To what extent are these changes consistent with the US Constitution and previously established law?
Prior to joining the UMKC law school faculty in 2003, Rostron worked as a Senior Staff Attorney at the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence in Washington, DC.1 Since joining UMKC, he has received multiple awards for excellence in teaching. In 2010 he was named the William R. Jacques Constitutional Law Scholar at UMKC. He has served as a guest professor of law at Peking University in China and a guest lecturer at Wasada University in Japan. He has also filled various administration roles in the UMKC Law School including as Associate Dean for Students between 2015 and 2020.2 He also maintains a list of roughly 200 law journals in joint with UMKC law professor Nancy Levit to help law scholars submit articles for review to different outlets.
In 2018, he published a comment that a "New constitutional convention could be detrimental to democracy".3
In 2013, he supported a "Donna's Law" bill in Missouri: That would allow someone with suicidal ideations to voluntarily put themselves on a "do-not-sell list for firearms". They could later take themselves off that list after a waiting period.4 Donna's Law was named after Donna Nathan, who "bought a Smith & Wesson revolver from a gun store near her home in New Orleans and then went to a park, where she shot herself" on 2018-06-26, shortly after leaving her third voluntary hospitalization for bipolar disorder that year.5 Rostron said, "Everything with guns is very controversial, but I think this is the least controversial provision you would think, because it's voluntary. ... Even if someone felt very strongly about gun rights and they being protected, we generally let people waive their rights if they choose to do so." He said that this bill could see bipartisan support.4 On 2024-08-22, Delaware became the fourth state to pass such a law.6
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1. "About Allen Rostron", UMKC School of Law (https://law.umkc.edu/docs/vitae/rostron.pdf), accessed 2025-04-01.
2. "Allen Rostron CV" (https://law.umkc.edu/docs/vitae/rostron.pdf).
3. Allen Rostron (2018-09-10) "New constitutional convention could be detrimental to democracy" (https://www.kansascity.com/article218141540.html).
4. Megan Abundis (2023-11-29) "Missouri legislator pushes Donna's Law, a voluntary do-not-sell list for firearms that aims to curb self-harm", KSHB 41 (https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/missouri-legislator-pushes-donnas-law-a-voluntary-do-not-sell-list-for-firearms-that-aims-to-curb-self-harm).
5. Agya K. Aning (2024-11-12) "To Prevent Suicide, States Want to Let People Ban Themselves From Buying Guns", The Trace, (https://www.thetrace.org/2024/11/donnas-law-suicide-prevention-gun-buying).
6. "Delaware Becomes the Fourth State to Enact Donna’s Law", 2024-08-22 (https://law.ua.edu/delaware-becomes-the-fourth-state-to-enact-donnas-law/)
Prior to joining the UMKC law school faculty in 2003, Rostron worked as a Senior Staff Attorney at the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence in Washington, DC.1 Since joining UMKC, he has received multiple awards for excellence in teaching. In 2010 he was named the William R. Jacques Constitutional Law Scholar at UMKC. He has served as a guest professor of law at Peking University in China and a guest lecturer at Wasada University in Japan. He has also filled various administration roles in the UMKC Law School including as Associate Dean for Students between 2015 and 2020.2 He also maintains a list of roughly 200 law journals in joint with UMKC law professor Nancy Levit to help law scholars submit articles for review to different outlets.
In 2018, he published a comment that a "New constitutional convention could be detrimental to democracy".3
In 2013, he supported a "Donna's Law" bill in Missouri: That would allow someone with suicidal ideations to voluntarily put themselves on a "do-not-sell list for firearms". They could later take themselves off that list after a waiting period.4 Donna's Law was named after Donna Nathan, who "bought a Smith & Wesson revolver from a gun store near her home in New Orleans and then went to a park, where she shot herself" on 2018-06-26, shortly after leaving her third voluntary hospitalization for bipolar disorder that year.5 Rostron said, "Everything with guns is very controversial, but I think this is the least controversial provision you would think, because it's voluntary. ... Even if someone felt very strongly about gun rights and they being protected, we generally let people waive their rights if they choose to do so." He said that this bill could see bipartisan support.4 On 2024-08-22, Delaware became the fourth state to pass such a law.6
_______
1. "About Allen Rostron", UMKC School of Law (https://law.umkc.edu/docs/vitae/rostron.pdf), accessed 2025-04-01.
2. "Allen Rostron CV" (https://law.umkc.edu/docs/vitae/rostron.pdf).
3. Allen Rostron (2018-09-10) "New constitutional convention could be detrimental to democracy" (https://www.kansascity.com/article218141540.html).
4. Megan Abundis (2023-11-29) "Missouri legislator pushes Donna's Law, a voluntary do-not-sell list for firearms that aims to curb self-harm", KSHB 41 (https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/missouri-legislator-pushes-donnas-law-a-voluntary-do-not-sell-list-for-firearms-that-aims-to-curb-self-harm).
5. Agya K. Aning (2024-11-12) "To Prevent Suicide, States Want to Let People Ban Themselves From Buying Guns", The Trace, (https://www.thetrace.org/2024/11/donnas-law-suicide-prevention-gun-buying).
6. "Delaware Becomes the Fourth State to Enact Donna’s Law", 2024-08-22 (https://law.ua.edu/delaware-becomes-the-fourth-state-to-enact-donnas-law/)
