Alderwoman, law enforcers blast concealed-gun bills

CREVE COEUR, Mo. -- A city alderwoman who saw her husband gunned down during a carjacking bid joined law enforcers and a child Friday in denouncing a proposal to let motorists have concealed guns in their vehicles, calling it "nonsense legislation."

Citing her husband's 1995 death in front of her and the couple's two young children, Lyda Krewson said "having a gun concealed in our glove box would have had absolutely no effect on that incident."

St. Louis Police Chief Joe Mokwa and six area colleagues assailed the state House-passed legislation, warning it would proliferate guns on the streets, make road-rage incidents deadlier, compromise police safety during traffic stops and put more children in harm's way.

'Bad laws'

"These are bad laws that would allow people who shouldn't have guns to have guns," St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch said during the law enforcement news conference in this St. Louis suburb. "It's a bad idea, and I hope we don't do it."

Proposed by House Majority Leader Wayne Crump, D-Potosi, the bill now awaiting Senate action would allow guns in glove boxes, under seats or in other areas of a vehicle's cabin. It also would let retired law officers carry concealed guns and require state prosecutors to consider referring certain weapons cases to federal prosecutors when tougher federal laws apply.

Some proponents said the measure simply gives Missourians the same right to transport a concealed weapon as people traveling through the state. Others have said the bill could be a first step toward a broader measure allowing most Missourians to apply for concealed weapons permits.