JEFFERSON CITY - The concealed weapons issue, defeated at the polls less than two years ago, would come back before the voters in a statewide referendum under legislation presented in a Senate committee Wednesday.

Sen. Ken Jacob, D-Columbia, is sponsoring the measure, the latest move in a legislative chess match over hidden handguns. If Jacob's bill gained final approval as written, it would take Gov. Bob Holden off the hook on the volatile issue. A governor must sign or veto bills, but if the Legislature attaches the referendum clause, the decision is transferred to the voters.

The election would be held in November 2002.

Holden, a Democrat, had campaigned against concealed weapons last year. But he said recently that he was willing to consider a compromise that protected public safety and law enforcement.

Jacob conceded that the National Rifle Association "could probably pass any kind of concealed weapons bill it wanted in the Legislature, and they may try this year." He also said it would be difficult for Holden to sign such a bill, given the vote on what was known as Proposition B in the April 6, 1999, election, which lost 52-48 percent.

After spending $3.8 million in the 1999 campaign, the NRA does not want a bill with a referendum.

Before Jacob presented his bill, the sponsor of another concealed weapons measure dropped a plan to bring his up for consideration in the same committee. A spokesman for Sen. Harold Caskey, D-Butler, said the timing "wasn't quite right." Caskey's bill does not contain the referendum clause.

The spokesman said the decision was unrelated to last week's high school shooting in California that left two students dead and more than a dozen wounded. The day after the shooting, a special House committee dropped plans to consider three concealed weapons bills.

Jacob's bill drew fire from both advocates and opponents of concealed weapons.

Kerry Messer, a lobbyist for the Missouri Family Issues Network, said his organization opposed the referendum clause and another component of the measure that requires permit applicants to demonstrate a need to carry a gun.

John Burke, a member of Gun Owners of America, said he was a supporter of concealed weapons. But he said that because the right to bear arms is guaranteed by the Constitution, a person shouldn't be required to demonstrate a need to exercise that right.

"I support concealed weapons because the facts and figures from every government-approved study show it works," said Burke, who is from Pierce City in southwest Missouri.

Like many witnesses at the hearing, Burke had driven several hours to deliver testimony that lasted only a few minutes. Because of a time crunch, Sen. Morris Westfall, R-Halfway, chairman of the Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, told witnesses to be brief. Many of them were from the St. Louis area. The committee took no action on Jacob's bill.

Jeannette Graviss, the chief warrant officer in the St. Louis Circuit attorney's office, questioned whether concealed weapons work. She said she had handled dozens of violent crime cases - murders, rapes and robberies.

"I cannot see a single case where carrying a weapon would have helped," Graviss said.

Mary Wertsch, executive director of Missourians Against Handgun Violence, said making weapons more accessible would mean that children would have greater opportunity to get guns. She said concealed weapons fostered an "illusion of self-protection."

"Most people can't answer their cell phone on the third ring," Wertsch said. She said the bill's 12-hour training requirement could not prepare someone to use a gun adequately in self-defense.

Among others testifying against concealed weapons were Nick Wertsch, Mary Wertsch's son and an eighth-grader at Brittany Woods Middle School in University City; Stacey Newman, co-president of the St. Louis Chapter of the Million Mom March; and Jeanne Kirkton of Webster Groves.

Jacob's bill is similar to Proposition B. One major difference is that the state Highway Patrol, rather than local sheriffs, would be responsible for issuing permits. It also has a clause that requires applicants to demonstrate "good and sufficient need to the highway patrol to carry a concealed firearm."

"If a person can't demonstrate why they have a need to carry one, I don't understand why they need to carry them," Jacob said. "They have to show they are in danger."

Concealed handgun proponents say that leaves too much discretion to decide who gets and who does not get a permit. Proponents want a "shall issue" bill that requires the automatic issuance of the permit if all licensing requirements are met.

Calling his bill "a work in progress," Jacob said that even after he drafted a substitute for it, he thought of more provisions that should be included. He said permit holders should be required to sign an affidavit affirming that their gun is locked in a gun safe or equipped with a safety lock when it is not carried.

The bill is SB 629.

Comparing concealed weapons proposals

Two years after voters in Missouri rejected Proposition B, to allow concealed weapons, the Legislature is considering another concealed weapons proposal.

The new proposal is different in two significant ways:

* Permits would be issued by the Highway Patrol rather than the sheriff's department.

* Applicants would be required to demonstrate a need to carry a concealed weapon.

MISSOURI LEGISLATURE\Reporter Terry Ganey:\E-mail: tganey@post-dispatch.com\Phone: 573-635-6178