General Membership Meeting Minutes of WMSA

July 22, 2004

Trails West Branch, KCPL

Minutes:

The July General Membership meeting began at 7:06 PM., with Mr. Derek Ward, Esquire, WMSA Vice-President, presiding and conducting the meeting. He mentioned that he was in possession of the agenda, and that Kevin Jamison, Esquire, WMSA President, would arrive later in the meeting.

Prior to delving into the agenda for the meeting, Derek asked those in attendance who felt comfortable in doing so to introduce themselves to the other members who were there.  Each member then took a moment to give his or her name and the city in which each resided. 

Derek then began with a general announcement regarding the endorsement by the BOD of WMSA of candidate John Bullard, Jr. for Jackson County Sheriff.  Then, he stated that many of us believed that it would be best, if taking a Democratic ballot in the primary election, to vote for Bob Holden over Claire McCaskill, not because we want Holden to be re-elected, but rather to keep from having our favored candidate, Republican Matt Blunt, face McCaskill in the November general election.  McCaskill is deemed to be a much stronger candidate than Holden, harder for Matt Blunt to beat in November.

Derek reminded those in attendance of the gun show this weekend at the KCI Expo Center.  A brief discussion was held regarding who would attend, noting that there appeared to be a lack of staffing for Sunday.  Derek asked for a volunteer and Don Neese agreed to work the show, on behalf of WMSA, on Sunday from 12:00 Noon to 3:00 PM. 

A future raffle for the purpose of raising additional funds for the legal bills still remaining was announced to the membership in attendance.  Raffle tickets will be priced at $5 each or five for $20.  It was noted that Dennis Begley, husband of board member Sheila Stokes-Begley, had kindly donated a nice derringer pistol for the auction.  There will be further items donated.

A discussion of what the Missouri legislature may intend to do next session was held, based on questions and comments put forth from the membership in attendance.  Derek stated that an effort to change PTA (permit to acquire) regulations may be made during next year’s Missouri legislative sessions.  Apparently, some states which issue concealed carry permits do not require holders to undergo a fresh NICS check which is done at the time of purchase of a handgun.  The reason for this is that the permit holder has already undergone background scrutiny before the issuance of the permit.  Therefore, the PTA seems redundant.   

Derek noted that very few counties were remaining as holdouts from taking applications and issuing concealed carry permits in Missouri.  Rory Marshall, looking at a map taken from www.learntocarry.com, noted that as of July 20^th, the map showed only five counties plus the city of St. Louis as holdouts.  He noted that Clay county was expected to start issuing on July 25^th.

A WMSA member in attendance commented that he had heard that some police officers were still ignorant of the right-to-carry laws and how to deal with citizens.  A general discussion ensued with the suggestion being made that, should one be stopped by a LEO, to be polite, cooperative, and non-confrontational.  It might make sense to have a copy of the law with you in your vehicle to show to an officer who is unfamiliar with the details. 

One Speaker in Attendance: 

• David R. (Dave) Browning, Libertarian candidate for Missouri Attorney General
• The floor was yielded to Mr. Browning to allow him an opportunity to discuss his candidacy.  He told the group that he has been an attorney for twenty-nine years with many years experience as a prosecutor.             
• He provided a handout to those in attendance.  He stated that he was a very strong supporter of the Second Amendment.
• He asked for the vote of the membership during the general election in November. 

Upon the conclusion of Mr. Browning’s remarks, Kevin Jamison, WMSA President stood and mentioned that he had previously sent a letter to law enforcement officers in the state, giving them clarification of the right-to-carry law and encouraging them to go to his website for more information and updates.  Kevin noted that at least one sheriff did not wish to receive further communications from him. 

A member in attendance suggested that we consider developing some kind of card that could be given out by WMSA members to businesses that we patronize.  The intent would be to state on the card the benefits of being a business sponsor of WMSA.  The suggestion was discussed, but no decision whether or not to implement this was reached at the meeting. 

Kevin invited members and friends to the picnic commemorating WMSA’s fifteenth anniversary.  It will be held from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM at the Crossfire Range/Arms Mart at 21200 E. Truman Road in Independence on Sunday, September 5^th, 2004.  A printed handout was mentioned, and members were requested to take one before leaving the meeting.  The handout notes that the meal will be a “pot luck” style affair, where people are requested to bring a dish of some sort.  It indicated that drinks would be provided.                      

Mr. Browning sent the following PDF of the brochure he gave out that night, so if you missed the meeting, you may now view the pdf by clicking here.