Local state representatives support concealed-carry veto override

Cape Girardeau County’s two Republican state representatives voted with the majority of their colleagues Wednesday to override Gov. Jay Nixon’s veto of a concealed-carry bill.

Both lawmakers — Rep. Donna Lichtenegger of Jackson and Kathy Swan of Cape Girardeau — came under intense pressure from gun-rights supporters after publicly stating Monday they were unsure how they would vote in Wednesday’s veto session.

Both lawmakers previously voted for the bill during the regular session but expressed some concerns with the legislation before the veto session.

Donna Lichtenegger

Lichtenegger questioned allowing people to carry concealed weapons without undergoing training. The bill scrapped the permit system and training requirements for those wanting to carry concealed weapons.

Although she voted for the measure, Lichtenegger said Thursday she still believes people need training on how to use a weapon.

“This is a lethal weapon, and you need to know how to use them,” she said Thursday.

Gun owners also need to know what they can or cannot do legally when it comes to using weapons for self-defense, Lichtenegger said.

Some gun owners still will need permits, even with passage of this new law, she said.

“If you are going to leave the jurisdiction of Missouri, you have to have a concealed-weapons permit, and that would require training,” she said.

Kathy Swan

Lichtenegger said she and Swan were vilified at times in Facebook posts for questioning the bill.

She said her office received numerous telephone calls from individuals who demanded they vote for the bill.

Lichtenegger said her office even received a threatening phone call.

Members of a gun-rights group were critical of both lawmakers “all because we dared to ask questions,” Lichtenegger said, adding the group was not the National Rifle Association.

The National Association for Gun Rights encouraged its members online to contact Lichtenegger, Swan and other lawmakers.

In an email Thursday, Zach Lautenschlager, the group’s vice president, said his organization delivered more than 12,000 petitions to lawmakers and placed more than 20,000 calls in support of the effort to override the governor’s veto.

“We sent over 800,000 emails in Missouri supporting the bill and reached another 127,000 Missouri Facebook viewers. We also had staff on the ground in Jefferson City throughout the veto session,” he wrote.

The Washington, D.C.-based group has 4.5 million members nationwide, including 100,000 in Missouri, he said.

Despite the critical comments, Lichtenegger said she would have voted against the override if the bill had not had “some merit.”

Lichtenegger and Swan both have voiced support in the past for the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms.

In advance of the veto session, Swan said she would prefer legislation that would allow cities and counties to regulate concealed weapons as they see fit.

A number of law-enforcement organizations opposed the bill, arguing lack of permits and training could jeopardize public safety.

Both Lichtenegger and Swan said earlier this week they had reservations about the bill partly because of law-enforcement opposition to the measure.

Swan offered only a brief comment Thursday about her “yes” vote.

In an emailed statement, she voiced support for law enforcement.

“One of my primary goals, both as a city councilwoman and as a state representative, has been to keep our citizens and law enforcement safe,” she wrote.

She said she had been given assurances by House Speaker Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, that “there will be a strong focus on public safety in the upcoming 2017 session, including increased penalties for violent acts against police officers and other law-enforcement personnel.”

mbliss@semissourian.com

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