May
3, 2005--A year and a half after the Missouri legislature passed
a concealed carry bill over the veto of then-Governor Holden,
residents of St. Louis will finally be able to apply for carry
permits.
The long, drawn-out process began in September
of 2003, when the legislature passed a bill despite Governor Holden's
veto.
Opponents of the legislation then did
what has now become as predictable as the sun rising in the east:
they went to court. They sued based on the so-called "Hancock
amendment" which prohibited the state from enacting laws
that local municipalities have to fund.
A lower court ruling in favor of the opponents
put issuance of permits on hold. The state Supreme Court upheld
the lower court's ruling, while at the same time saying that issuing
permits for concealed weapons was constitutional.
Thus, Missouri sheriffs could issue permits.
Or their county boards could refuse, claiming that the costs associated
with the process exceeded the permit fee being charged.
The city of St. Louis and St. Louis county
sued, claiming that the $100 fee amounted to an unfunded mandate,
and that the law restricted how the $100 fee could be spent. The
city and the county won, and were exempted from issuing permits.
Ironically, the result of that action
was that many St. Louis city and county residents applied for
and received non-resident permits from states such as Florida
and Pennsylvania. Because the Missouri concealed carry law recognizes
all state permits, the non-resident permits were valid. Even in
St. Louis.
The bill passed today by the state Senate
allows counties to spend the $100 fee however they wish. An identical
bill passed the state House in March by a vote of 142 to 7. Governor
Matt Blunt has already promised to sign the bill.
St. Louis county and the city of St. Louis
will have no choice but to issue permits.
"It ends all the Supreme Court challenges,
all of the objections that the chief law enforcement officers
have," said Senator Jason Crowell (R-Cape Girardeau).
The battle to pass concealed carry legislation
in Missouri has been a long and contentious one. In 1999, a statewide
ballot referendum on concealed carry failed. Nearly every county
in the state voted in favor of it, but a full-court press by opponents
of concealed carry in St. Louis defeated the ballot measure.
Still, St. Louis residents wishing to
apply for permits may face some hurdles.
Sheriff James Murphy hinted that there
may be delays. He said that applications will be taken on an appointment-only
basis, and that it may take weeks or months before a special telephone
line for applicants is installed. He also hinted that it may be
months before his office receives the fingerprint machine necessary
to take the prints of applicants. He did not indicate how the
department now handles fingerprinting those his deputies arrest.
"We're going to do it as conveniently
as possible, but we don't want lines of people" waiting to
apply, Sheriff Murphy said.
Meanwhile, many who have received non-resident
permits from other states say they intend to use those permits,
rather than a Missouri permit. They cite cost as one factor: a
Missouri permit costs $100, and is valid for three years, after
which a renewal costs $50. A Florida permit, on the other hand,
costs $117 and is good for five years, after which the renewal
cost is $75.
"Thousands of people have already
gone out of state," said Jim Stephens, owner of Bullseye
Indoor Shooting Range. "The rush is over. Some people will
still sign up, but not as many as they expect. The county fought
this for two years and now they have nothing to show for it."
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