Bill would end bans on carrying guns openly

Missouri's local governments would no longer be allowed to ban the open carrying of firearms or the discharge of those weapons within their boundaries under a bill introduced by Sen. Jason Crowell.

If approved, the measure would make a Cape Girardeau city ordinance against openly carrying guns unenforceable along with another provision, which is also in Jackson's city ordinances, against the discharge of firearms within city limits.

The measure is designed to provide extra legal protection to people who may be forced to use a gun for self-defense and to make sure that laws are uniform across the state, said Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau. But the measure could handicap police efforts to control gun violence, Cape Girardeau police chief Carl Kinnison said, a sentiment that was echoed by Sheldon Lineback, executive director of the Missouri Police Chiefs Association.

For many years, Missouri law has barred local governments from enacting firearms regulations that are stricter than those in state law. The two exceptions remaining after lawmakers in 2003 approved the issuance of permits allowing residents to carry concealed weapons allowed local jurisdictions to ban the open carrying of firearms and to bar people from discharging the weapons.

Events following the enactment of the concealed weapons law show that law-abiding residents who receive the permits aren't trigger-happy, Crowell said. But he can imagine a scenario where someone who uses their legally allowed weapon to protect themselves is charged under municipal ordinances with illegally discharging their gun.

"There was not a gunfight on every street corner" after the concealed weapons law was approved, Crowell said. "When citizens have a right to defend themselves, it is a good thing."

But Kinnison sees two problems with Crowell's bill -- anyone carrying a concealed weapon must go through firearms training, while someone who wanted to carry a gun in the open would need to only pass a background check. And the closeness of city life makes discharging a gun within town limits extremely dangerous.

Near the end of 2006, Kinnison noted, there were a series of incidents involving guns being fired between moving cars and at homes. In one instance, a shooter was caught because an officer chased down a man who got out of a car with a gun in his hand. If the city had no ordinance against openly carrying a gun, Kinnison said, the officer wouldn't have had the legal justification for stopping the man.

"If it was legal to discharge a gun and legal to carry it openly, we would have absolutely no authority," Kinnison said.

Crowell's bill would not touch state laws against firing guns in an attempt to assault someone or damage property.

The forced repeal of city ordinances against discharging guns in city limits creates the most worry for Lineback. Police chiefs from across the state have started contacting the association about the bill, he said.

Lineback said he hasn't had a chance to talk with Crowell about the intent of the bill, but he said rules against discharging guns in cities are common-sense restrictions.

"We don't want people shooting squirrels off the back tree," Lineback said. "With the population base as close as they are, we just don't want somebody getting hurt."

Missouri Department of Conservation rules don't ban hunting within city limits. Instead, brochures put out by the department caution hunters to check with local rules about discharging guns.

The bill is mainly a measure to increase the protection for law-abiding gun owners, Crowell said. The issues raised by Kinnison and Lineback need discussion so any changes in law don't have an absurd or dangerous result, he said.

"I am willing to work with anybody on all of that," Crowell said. "I don't think we should have people out there idly discharging weapons into the air."

rkeller@semissourian.com

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