Received this note from my NRA newsletter.
For the original posting from the KC Star click here.
Posted on Wed, Mar. 31, 2010
By JASON NOBLE and DAVID KLEPPER
The Kansas City Star
JEFFERSON CITY
It’s been a quiet week in Jefferson City.
Legislators writing laws. Debating the budget.
Training with handguns.
About 16 Missouri lawmakers — along with several legislative staffers and at least one representative’s wife — are taking a firearms-training course sponsored by the bipartisan “Sportsmen’s Caucus” that will qualify them for concealed weapons permits.
Tuesday’s lesson plan? Proper firearm care and cleaning.
“You need to bring your weapon tonight,” read a reminder sent out over the House e-mail system. “No ammo will be needed. Pizza and soda will be served.”
Missouri, like most states, allows people to carry concealed weapons if they pass a training course and register with a law enforcement agency. This week, lawmakers took steps to extend that privilege into the corridors of the Capitol.
On the same day of the lawmakers’ firearms class, the House gave first-round approval to a bill that would expressly allow legislators, their aides and employees to carry concealed weapons in the statehouse.
“If you stay up with your news and what’s going on in the world, you know bad things happen all over the place,” said Rep. Jeanie Riddle, a Mokane Republican who sponsored the amendment that added the Capitol language. “It would be nice for us to not be a statistic.”
State law now bars most people — including state employees — from bringing a deadly weapon into the Capitol. Lawmakers who hold a concealed-carry permit, however, are exempt from the prohibition.
Riddle said it was only fair to extend that privilege to others who work in the building, which no longer has metal detectors but has a Capitol police force.
“My life isn’t any more important than anyone else’s who works here, so to offer them the same opportunity I think is the right thing to do,” Riddle said.
The measure was included in a broader firearms bill that would drop the age limit for a concealed-carry permit from 23 to 21, and expand the “Castle Doctrine” to allow people who rent their homes to use deadly force against intruders.
The bill passed on a 125-19 vote.
But not everyone thinks lawmakers and their staffers should be packing heat in the halls of government.
“I think it’s incredibly shortsighted for so many people who are not even elected by the public to bring guns into the Capitol, (especially) so many people who often are immature and feel very passionate about their positions,” said Rep. Mary Still, a Columbia Democrat who voted against the bill.
But even some opponents of the legislation were not especially concerned with the provisions relating to the Capitol. More troubling, they said, was the proposed lowered age limit for concealed-carry permits.
“I know there are a lot of people that bring weapons into the statehouse. I can’t help that. It’s their right and privilege under the law,” said Rep. Tom McDonald, an Independence Democrat. “But extending that to 21-year-olds and giving kids that age the privilege to carry a gun leads to bigger problems.”
The firearms legislation must still win a second vote in the House before moving to the Senate for further consideration. Yet even if it fails, Missouri’s Capitol is still more welcoming to weapons than Kansas and some other states.
In Kansas, firearms — concealed or otherwise — are not allowed in the statehouse or in most other government buildings. State law does not prohibit the open carrying of firearms, so cities without local bans, such as Topeka, allow citizens to wear holstered firearms in public — though not in the statehouse.
Kansas was one of the last holdouts in the nation on concealed weapons, authorizing licenses in 2006 only after lawmakers overrode a veto by then-Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.
Now some lawmakers are trying to relax the rules, arguing that worries about concealed weapons have been proven false.
Rep. Forrest Knox, an Altoona Republican, this year pushed through the House a bill that would allow permit holders to take their concealed firearms into any public building, including university campuses and government buildings. The only exception would be buildings with “adequate” security, including metal detectors and armed guards.
Because the Kansas statehouse has only a small security detachment and a single metal detector at one of two public entrances, its security would not qualify as “adequate,” according to bill supporters.
Knox, who does not have a concealed weapons permit, said he was shocked by the lack of statehouse security when he was first elected. He lived in Israel for six years and said too many Americans were naive about the threat of violence.
“The things we hope never happen — a crazy comes with a gun — that’s really the real concern,” Knox said. “Somebody could come into this Capitol and do terrible things.”
Knox said some lawmakers, most of them women, have told him they have carried firearms in the statehouse, despite the prohibition.
Knox’s bill, however, faces a fight. The Senate this year is not likely to even consider the measure. And Sen. Jay Emler, a Lindsborg Republican who is chairman of the Joint Committee on Kansas Security, said he opposed any proposal to bring guns into the Capitol, a building often filled with visiting schoolchildren.
“We don’t need any firearms in the statehouse other than those carried by uniformed law enforcement,” Emler said.
Gov. Mark Parkinson, a Democrat, agreed, saying the idea of concealed weapons on college campuses was particularly worrisome. He said he supported Sebelius’ veto of concealed weapons and that it was a bad idea to relax the rules.
“I understand that people feel they have a right to bear arms and the Constitution verifies that. But there are reasonable limits that we should impose,” Parkinson said.
But Patricia Stoneking, president of the Kansas State Rifle Association, said logic was on the side of those pushing for the changes. The only people who follow concealed-weapon rules are law-abiding citizens, she said.
Every time she visits the statehouse, she said, she locks her concealed weapon in her car, but she does not like it.
“The only people disarming are the good guys,” Stoneking said. “The signs basically say ‘nobody in here has a gun and we have no way to defend ourselves.’ It’s like putting a bull’s-eye on the door.”
But if you are wondering which Missouri lawmakers might be packing heat now or in the future, forget it. Whether a person has a concealed-carry permit is confidential, and revealing a permit holder’s status is a misdemeanor. In fact, supporters of concealed carry often prefer not to publicize their status as permit holders.
When asked if she carried a weapon in the Capitol, or would if she had a permit, Riddle demurred.
“You know, it’s our Second Amendment right,” she said.
Others apparently don’t mind letting it be known they’re armed.
Rep. Curt Dougherty, an Independence Democrat, said he was taking the lawmakers’ training course and would get a permit upon completing the requirements. But the lifetime member of the National Rifle Association said he probably would not carry a gun on a regular basis.
“I always thought since that issue meant something to me, I should probably go out and get the license,” Dougherty said. “But I have no interest, really, in carrying a gun.”
Sponsoring the firearms class in Missouri is the legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus, a group of lawmakers who advocate for hunting, fishing and Second Amendment rights.
“We’ve got Republicans and Democrats,” said Rep. Jason Brown, a Platte City Republican and co-chairman of the caucus. “It’s very bipartisan.”
The course follows hunter-safety classes held earlier this year by the caucus. In coming weeks, the group will sponsor a trapshooting event and a turkey hunt for young hunters, co-sponsored by Gov. Jay Nixon.
The goal of each event is to advocate for activities that are culturally intrinsic to Missouri, caucus members said, but which may not be well understood in all parts of the state or by all lawmakers.
“Every caucus needs to have meaningful activities that meet up with their mission,” said Sen. Wes Shoemyer, a Clarence Democrat. “This is just one of those meaningful activities that meets up with the Sportsmen’s Caucus.”
The class is led by volunteer instructors, organizers said, although participants have been asked to make $50 contributions to the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, a national lobbying group and umbrella organization for state sportsmen’s caucuses.
State law requires eight hours of training to qualify for a concealed-carry permit. In the Kansas City area, those courses typically cost between $50 and $125.
The first class was held two weeks ago in the statehouse, but lessons were moved across town to a trade group’s headquarters when it came time to bring guns to class.
In the class’ final meeting later this month, participants must demonstrate their marksmanship. To pass, they must hit a target with at least 15 of 20 rounds from 7 yards away.
To reach Jason Noble, call 573-634-3565 or send e-mail to jnoble@kcstar.com. To reach David Klepper, call 785-354-1388 or send e-mail to dklepper@kcstar.com.
© 2010 Kansas City Star and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.kansascity.com
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