LETTERS: CONCEALED WEAPONS

To the editor:

On Jan. 18 the executive board of the St. Louis Police Officers' Association, which represents 1,300 police officers employed by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, endorsed Senate Bill 679, which would allow law-abiding Missouri residents to apply for a permit to carry a concealed weapon. Our decision to back this bill was a result of considerable research of concealed-carry bills passed in other states and considerable discussion with other rank-and-file police organizations across the country.

SB 679 contains stringent requirements for permit applicants. Frankly, the requirements are stronger than those needed to become a St. Louis police officer. A permit applicant cannot have any adult or juvenile felony convictions; cannot have any history of drug, alcohol, or substance abuse; cannot have a history of mental illness; and, most importantly, cannot have exhibited violent behavior over a five-year period.

One must also realize that this is simply the right to carry, not use. All other state statutes and federal laws relating to the unlawful use of weapons remain intact. If a permit holder uses a weapon contrary to these laws, he will be arrested and prosecuted.

Sens. Danny Staples and Peter Kinder did a commendable job in drafting this legislation. They have included the safeguards that rank-and-file police officers have suggested. They have made the Missouri State Highway Patrol the regulating agency, rather than the local sheriff's department. They have included mandatory training in both handgun safety and Missouri statutes dealing with use of deadly force.

Police administrators may be critical of our decision, but you must realize they are not always the voice of the rank-and-file police officer. Twenty-eight states have passed some type of concealed-carry legislation. Police offices in those states have told us that they do not feel intimidated or threatened by such laws.

As police officers, we ask the public for trust and respect. It's time that we return this trust and respect to the law-abiding residents of Missouri.

JOHN J. JOHNSON

Recording Secretary/Legislative Chairman

St. Louis Police Officers' Association