PROP B BACKERS SEEK VOTERS; 50 ATTEND MEETING

Vote.

That was the message delivered to concealed-weapons supporters at a town-hall meeting in Cape Girardeau Thursday night.

Tim Heuiser of Poplar Bluff, area coordinator for Missourians Against Crime, told a crowd of about 50 people at the Osage Community Centre that turnout holds the key to victory in the April 6 election.

Missourians Against Crime is a statewide campaign organization set up to push for passage of Proposition B, a measure that would allow residents to carry concealed guns.

To do so, they would have to meet eligibility requirements and obtain permits from their local sheriff's office.

"Don't take for granted that it is going to pass," Heuiser warned. "Take friends to vote. Take neighbors to vote."

Heuiser said voter turnout statewide typically is low in April elections.

Several in the crowd spoke in support of Proposition B.

Jackie Sproat of Marble Hill said an effort needs to be made to win women and minorities. "We already have the old white-guy vote," she said.

State Sen. Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, is a strong supporter of Proposition B.

He pushed for several years to pass right-to-carry legislation. Last year the Legislature passed a bill that leaves the decision up to the voters.

Kinder said Proposition B would enact one of the strictest concealed-weapons laws in the nation. Such laws in other states have helped reduce violent crime, he said.

Kinder said the state with the lowest crime rate is Vermont, which allows its residents to carry concealed weapons without a permit.

Missouri allows residents of right-to-carry states to have concealed guns when they travel through the state. Missourians, however, don't have that same right, Kinder said.

Heuiser voiced dismay that Missouri's professional sports teams -- the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals and the St. Louis Cardinals and Rams -- have come out against Proposition B.

Those organizations have voiced concern about the possibility of concealed weapons being brought into their stadiums.

Missourians Against Crime has pointed out that Proposition B allows all businesses to post signs banning guns on their premises.

Heuiser urged Proposition B supporters to call the sports teams and voice their unhappiness with the teams' actions.

Heuiser said Missouri's prohibition against concealed weapons originated after the Civil War to keep blacks from having guns.

"Until the 1960s, Missouri never prosecuted a white man for carrying a concealed weapon," said Heuiser. Over the years, thousands of black men were jailed for the crime, he said.

"This is a racist law we are trying to overturn," Heuiser said.