Two area lawmakers unsure how they will vote on concealed-carry bill in veto session

Cape Girardeau County's two Republican state representatives said they are undecided whether to vote to override Gov. Jay Nixon's veto of a concealed-carry measure.

Lawmakers will convene in Jefferson City on Wednesday for the annual veto session.

State Reps. Kathy Swan of Cape Girardeau and Donna Lichtenegger of Jackson voted for the bill when it passed the legislature earlier this year. But now they have reservations about the measure, fueled in part by law-enforcement opposition to the bill.

Senate Bill 656, supported by the National Rifle Association, would allow people to carry a concealed weapon without a permit. It would expand Missouri's "castle doctrine" by allowing invited guests such as baby sitters to use deadly force against intruders.

The bill would allow people to carry concealed weapons without undergoing any training.

Rep. Donna Lichtenegger

"I have a problem with no training," Lichtenegger said Monday.

Currently, training is required to receive concealed-weapons permits from Missouri's county sheriffs.

"I think there are people out there that would hurt themselves without the training," she said.

Because lawmakers cannot amend legislation in the veto session, Lichtenegger said she would have to have assurances lawmakers would adopt training requirements in the 2017 session before she could agree to vote affirmatively to override Nixon's veto.

Lichtenegger and Swan said opposition from law-enforcement groups, including the Missouri Police Chiefs Association and the 6,400-member Missouri Fraternal Order of Police, is a factor in their concerns about the bill.

"I am leaning 'no' at this point," Lichtenegger said of whether she'll override the governor's veto.

Swan said, "I don't know what I am going to do at this point."

Swan said she would prefer legislation that would allow cities and counties to regulate concealed weapons as they see fit. The current bill seeks to "apply one size fits all," she said.

State Sen. Wayne Wallingford, R-Cape Girardeau, backed the bill earlier this year and plans to support it in the veto session.

Eliminating the permit system won't prevent people from seeking gun training, he said.

Wallingford said a general public packing concealed weapons can be a deterrent to criminals.

"I think it makes the perpetrator think twice," he said.

Other states have such laws, and it has not led to a "wild west" situation, Wallingford said.

Wallingford said he has spoken to rank-and-file police officers who support the measure.

But Cape Girardeau police chief Wes Blair, who is vice president of the 600-member Missouri Police Chiefs Association, said the bill would jeopardize public safety. People need to have proper training to safely carry a gun, he said.

Blair said hunters must go through training. It should be no different for people who are packing weapons for self-defense, the police chief said.

In addition, gun owners need to be trained as to when it is legal to use weapons for self-defense, he said.

Blair predicted the vote Wednesday will be close. To override the veto, the bill's supporters need 109 votes in the House and 23 votes in the Senate.

On another issue, the GOP-majority legislature likely will override Nixon's veto of the voter-ID measure, according to local lawmakers. Swan, Lichtenegger and Wallingford voted for the measure the first time, and plan to do so again Wednesday.

They said the measure would ensure those who cast ballots are legal voters. Critics argue it would disenfranchise minority voters.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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