JEFFERSON CITY - Missouri's annual legislative battle over the right to carry concealed guns opened Tuesday with Republican lawmakers promising to put the legislation on a fast track.

Rep. Robert Mayer, a Dexter Republican who is chairman of the Crime Prevention Committee, said he planned to call for a vote Thursday on a proposal that includes elements of four concealed-carry bills. An affirmative vote would send the bill to the House floor.

But the fast action masked an uneasy feeling among several lawmakers about concealed weapons, which voters rejected four years ago.

Rep. Neal St. Onge, a St. Louis County Republican, chided critics of Missouri's prohibition against carrying concealed guns.

"Missouri citizens are prohibited, because our citizens voted on this and said no," said St. Onge, whose district voted overwhelmingly against the concealed-carry measure. "If this were a tax issue we were bringing back up, you would be the first to say, `How could you!' "

Most committee members, however, seemed to agree with witnesses who said concealed guns would reduce crime, make people feel safer and allow women to protect themselves.

Greg Jefferies, legislative coordinator for Missourians for Personal Safety, said Missouri is one of only six states that still prohibits concealed weapons. States that allow them have seen few accidental shootings or other problems frequently cited by opponents, he said.

"Missouri currently requires that when you leave your home, you have to be defenseless," Jefferies said. "This bill simply gives law-abiding people the option to defend themselves once they leave the confines of their homes.

The bills would allow Missouri residents to obtain permits to carry concealed guns if they are at least 21, have never been convicted of a felony and are not known drunks or mentally incompetent. Applicants also could not have a conviction for a misdemeanor crime of violence within the preceding five years.

Applicants would have to undergo at least eight hours of training. They would have to take a shooting test and be certified that they know how to handle a revolver and a semiautomatic handgun.

Rep. Larry Crawford, a California Republican who is the lead sponsor of the legislation, called the bills' provisions among the most restrictive in the country.

He acknowledged that the eight hours of training was less than the 12 hours that would have been required under 1999's Proposition B. But Crawford said the training and shooting requirements are far more stringent.

The National Rifle Association estimates that the average applicant would need more than 16 hours of training to qualify for a concealed-carry permit, he said.

With term limits bringing in 90 new House members this year, many appeared unfamiliar with the issues surrounding the bill. Some lawmakers questioned how people intended to use guns if an intruder broke into their homes.

Others said residents of rural areas need concealed guns because it takes sheriff's deputies so long to reach their homes. Witnesses complained about being unable to carry a gun while traveling through high-crime urban areas or through rural areas plagued by methamphetamine dealers.

But current law places no limits on how Missouri residents store guns in their homes. And state law allows people to carry guns as long as they are not hidden under clothing. [Misleading: See Brad Alpert's email and Star's reply]

Todd Elkins, a St. Joseph minister who is chairman of a statewide church coalition known as Missouri Impact, said recent studies have shown that concealed handguns tend to increase crime, not reduce it. But the most detrimental aspect of concealed guns, he said, was their effect on society.

Signs prohibiting concealed guns inside stores and other businesses just raise the anxiety level, he said. Rather than trying to arm the citizenry, authorities should try a more comprehensive approach to solving violent crime, he said.

"An armed society is not a polite society," Elkins said. "An armed society is not a healthy society. An armed society is not a safer society for our children."

Rep. Yvonne Wilson, a Kansas City Democrat, asked how more guns would help inner-city neighborhoods plagued by crime. Rep. Frank Barnitz, a Lake Spring Democrat, said high-crime areas are the places where people need concealed guns the most.

"The criminal element already has guns," Barnitz said. "But under current law," he added, "law-abiding people have no right to protect themselves."