Missouri House passes bill allowing concealed weapons
JEFFERSON CITY - Carrying concealed weapons would be legal
under a bill that won final approval Thursday from the Missouri
House.
The bill restricts who could have a concealed weapon and where a
permit holder could carry it. The measure passed on a 108-33
vote and now moves to the Senate for more debate.
The bill has many safeguards. For example, those who get the
permit from their sheriff could not be a felon or have been
convicted of a misdemeanor involving a crime of violence in the
past five years.
Applicants would have to go through eight hours of safety
training and a background check. Permits would cost $100 and be
valid for three years.
Concealed weapons could not be taken into casinos, bars,
prisons, or police stations but could be carried into schools,
churches and child care facilities with proper approval. Members
of the Legislature would be allowed to carry concealed weapons
in the House and Senate chambers.
The sponsor, Rep. Larry Crawford, R-California, said the bill
has some features that make gun-rights supporters skittish.
He said one of the criticisms of Proposition B was that there
was no central repository of information on who would have had
concealed weapons permits. Under his bill, the state Department
of Revenue would keep the information and would issue a new
drivers or nondrivers license with a "concealed carry
endorsement."
House Speaker Catherine Hanaway, R-Warson Woods, was one of the
votes in favor of the bill. In 1999, she had opposed Proposition
B, a concealed weapon initiative that lost narrowly in a
statewide vote.
Hanaway said she changed her position last year because
circumstances in the country have changed.
"There is just a different climate than there was before
Sept. 11," Hanaway said in an interview after the vote.
Hanaway said she had not compared this year's concealed weapons
bill to Proposition B. But she felt the latest initiative
strikes a "reasonable balance" in limiting those who
could carry concealed weapons.
Opponents stressed their worries that having more guns on the
street would ultimately lead to more violence. Rep. Kathlyn
Fares, R-Webster Groves, was the only Republican from the St.
Louis area to vote against the bill. "I think it's a public
health issue in the urban areas," she said.
ST. LOUIS AREA HOUSE VOTE ROSTER
Concealed weapons
NO
Corcoran, D-St. Ann; Darrough, D-Florissant; Daus, D-St. Louis;
Donnelly, D-Richmond Heights; Fraser, D-University City; George,
D-Florissant; Johnson, D-High Ridge; Kratky, D-St. Louis;
Muckler, D-Ferguson; Page, D-Creve Coeur; Schoemehl, D-Oakville;
Spreng, D-Florissant; Thompson, D-University City; Villa, D-St.
Louis; Vogt, D-Affton; Walsh, D-Bellefontaine Neighbors; Walton,
D-St. Louis; Yaeger, D-St. Louis County, Zweifel, D-Florissant;
Fares, R-Webster Groves.
YES
Abel, D-Festus; Engler, D-Farmington; Green, D-St. Charles;
Harris, D-Hillsboro; Henke, D-Troy; Kuessner, D-Eminence; Liese,
D-Maryland Heights; McKenna, D-Barnhart; Selby, D-Bonne Terre;
Avery, R-Crestwood; Bearden, R-St. Charles; Bivins, R-Mehlville,
Byrd, R-Kirkwood; Cunningham, R-Chesterfield; Davis, R-O'Fallon;
Dempsey, R-St. Charles, Hanaway, R-Warson Woods; Icet,
R-Wildwood; Jackson, R-Wildwood; Lembke, R-Mehlville, Nieves,
R-Washington; Parker, R-St. Charles; Portwood, R-Ballwin; Rupp,
R-Wentzville; Schlottach, R-Owensville; Schneider, R-O'Fallon;
Smith, R-St. Peters; St. Onge, R-Ballwin; Stefanick, R-Ballwin;
Sutherland, R-Warrenton; Threlkeld, R-Washington.
ABSENT
Adams, D-Arnold; Boykins, D-St. Louis; Carnahan, D-St. Louis;
El-Amin, D-St. Louis; Haywood, D-Bellerive; Hilgeman, D-St.
Louis; Hoskins, D-Berkeley; Hubbard, D-St. Louis; Johnson, D-St.
Louis; Jones, D-St. Louis; Wagner, D-DeSoto.
The bill is HB 349.
Reporter Bill Bell Jr.:
E-mail: bbell@post-dispatch.com
Phone: 573-635-6178
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