JEFFERSON CITY - Just like that, Missouri is a concealed carry state.

It happened without much fanfare, without another huge cash outlay from the National Rifle Association, without a second public vote. Missouri became a state where people can legally tote around concealed weapons because its political power base has tilted just enough in favor of conservative and rural interests.

By overriding Gov. Bob Holden's veto of a bill passed earlier this year, the legislature overrode the will of 52 percent of the people who voted in a 1999 statewide election on the concealed carry issue.

The action is outrageous, though only to those of us in the 52 percent. We thought the vote put the issue to rest; the other 48 percent saw it as a temporary setback. We move in parallel universes, each group astounded at the logic of the other.

I am flummoxed by lawmakers who say the government has no business telling citizens they can't carry guns, but who favor any governmental restriction on abortion they can maneuver. Minutes after legalizing concealed weapons, the legislature overrode Holden's veto of a bill requiring a woman to speak with a physician 24 hours before undergoing the procedure.

The other universe finds no contradiction in those positions. Missouri's statehouse on Wednesday teemed with abortion opponents, dressed in their trademark red shirts. Many of them also sported orange buttons that said, "Guns Save Lives."

To the 52 percent of voters who thought the gun election meant something -- we were mistaken, but we will survive.

I don't like what the legislature did. Don't like it at all. Like most people, my feelings on this subject evolve not from statistics but from experience. I have a good friend who lost a brother because he was young, drunk and acting stupid, and a comrade -- equally drunk and more stupid -- pulled a gun and killed him. The shooter couldn't remember much afterward; he regretted having brought a gun to the party.

In my house we teach that guns kill people. If you see a gun, get away. It's right up there with the old standby -- don't go anywhere with a stranger.

All that said, Missouri's new law probably won't have a big impact on most of our lives. Violent crimes haven't increased in states that already allow concealed carry. The law here prohibits guns in schools, churches, arenas, bars, casinos and other places. Any business, in fact, can post a "no guns" sign on the door; I plan on patronizing the ones that do.

Concealed carry is a done deal, and we will have to accept it. What we don't have to accept is this legislature. It thinks the way to make people's lives better is to allow them to carry guns, but not to provide financial relief for their schools, or to keep college tuition affordable, or to spend enough to protect elderly people and children at risk in their homes.

This is what happens when candidates run for office on blind pledges of "no new taxes," and voters don't bother to question what that means.

But the balance of power has not tipped far. Now is the time to learn the names of your state legislators. Find out if you live in the same universe. State elections are a year from this November. Fifty-two percent of the vote would bring a lot of changes.

To leave a comment for Barbara Shelly, call (816) 234-4594, or send e-mail to bshelly@kcstar.com