Missouri House votes to allow concealed weapons without permits

An overwhelming majority of Missouri House members, including two local lawmakers, approved a measure to allow people to carry concealed weapons without a permit.

Republican state Reps. Donna Lichtenegger and Kathy Swan voted for the bill, which passed Tuesday by a vote of 112-37. The measure goes to the Senate.

The bill would allow Missourians to carry concealed weapons without a permit anywhere they can carry openly.

Missouri already allows open carry of weapons without a permit.

Lichtenegger, who co-sponsored the bill, said criminals already have guns.

“Why make it harder for good guys to have a gun?” she said.

Under current law, Missouri residents, ages 19 or older, may apply for a concealed-carry permit. Members or veterans of the military who are at least 18 years old also may apply for such permits.

Applicants first must complete at least an eight-hour firearms safety course and pay a $100 fee to obtain a permit from their local sheriff’s department.

“Not everyone can afford to take a concealed-carry class,” Lichtenegger said.

The Jackson lawmaker said she sees no need to require permits for concealed-carry weapons when no such licensing is required for those who openly carry weapons in the state.

“Most people don’t realize that there are a lot of places where you can open carry,” she said.

The general public, however, is prohibited from carrying concealed weapons in police stations, jails, near polling places, meetings of government bodies, bars without consent, airports, schools, amusement parks, churches, sports arenas with seating for more than 5,000 people, hospitals and private or public places where posted.

Lichtenegger said she wished the bill also would have allowed concealed weapons on college campuses.

“It is very dangerous on these campuses,” she said, adding years ago she deterred a would-be rapist in Columbia, Missouri, by pretending she had a weapon.

Lichtenegger has a permit for a concealed weapon.

“I am going to keep my permit,” she said.

But she argued a permit should not be necessary, particularly since federal background checks are required to purchase guns.

Officials at Missouri’s public colleges, including Southeast Missouri State University, have opposed allowing concealed weapons on their campuses, contending it could jeopardize safety of students and staff.

State Rep. Kathy Swan, R-Cape Girardeau, said she voted for the bill because it would eliminate “confusion over what has to be open or concealed.”

She said it will remain illegal to carry concealed weapons into places where they are not allowed.

The House-passed legislation also would expand the state’s “castle doctrine” by giving house guests, such as baby sitters, the right to use deadly force to defend themselves against intruders as is allowed for those who reside in the home. Lichtenegger said anyone who has permission to be in the house should have the right to defend themselves in such situations.

Democratic lawmakers argued the measure could lead to public-safety concerns and would encourage people to use deadly force.

Perry County Sheriff Gary Schaaf doesn’t have a strong opinion about the legislation, although he concedes one benefit of a permit system is it requires the gun owner to first take a firearms-safety course.

“I would hope anyone who carries a weapon would know how to use the weapon,” he said.

If the bill becomes law, it won’t pose a major problem, Schaaf said. When Missourians first were allowed to carry concealed weapons, critics said “it would be like the wild, wild west,” he recalled. Such predictions proved unfounded, he said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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