Gun law also will conceal licensees

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Something will be concealed besides pistols when Missouri sheriffs begin issuing permits this month to pack hidden handguns: the names of a projected 60,000 gun licensees.

Missouri's new law, enacted when the Legislature overrode Gov. Bob Holden's veto last month, bars identification of concealed weapons permit holders -- even though separate applications to sheriffs to purchase guns have been open records for years, and remain so.

The new law makes it a misdemeanor for law enforcement to disclose names of holders of concealed gun permits issued by Missouri sheriffs starting Oct. 11.

An Associated Press review of the four concealed gun laws enacted this year -- in Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri and New Mexico -- showed that each bars public identification by name of permit holders.

Legislation was filed but not approved this year in at least two other states, Tennessee and Texas, to close currently accessible listings by name of concealed gun permit holders.

Gun control advocates accuse concealed guns boosters and the National Rifle Association of pressing a national strategy to keep the public from scrutinizing who is licensed to carry concealed guns.

"It's simple: The proponents of concealed carry to do not want to have news stories that a permit holder pulled a gun and shot someone. The improper use of concealed weapons is the strongest argument we have against these laws," said Luis Tolley, spokesman for the Brady Campaign, a leading gun control group.

But the NRA strongly defends barring public scrutiny of who is licensed to carry a concealed gun and would like to see lists closed in every state, a spokeswoman said.

Law deters crime

"There is no need for the public to know who has a permit," said NRA spokeswoman Kelly Hobbs. "Research has shown that the principal reason right-to-carry laws deter crime is that criminals do not know who is armed."

She added that secrecy of the names of permit holders "is something we support and we want to see included in all right-to-carry laws."

In Missouri, the state open records law assumes as basic policy that government paperwork is public unless specifically exempted.

State Rep. Larry Crawford, R-Centertown, said the records closure was put into the concealed gun law because of "concerns that publicizing who has a license could lead to those people being targeted for theft of their guns."

Charles Davis, executive director of the Freedom of Information Center at the University of Missouri-Columbia, called the reasons for closing the concealed gun permit lists "ludicrous."

For example, Davis said, a parent wouldn't be able to find out independently whether a baby sitter carried a concealed gun, or a homeowner couldn't discover whether a bothersome neighbor had a permit. He said news organizations couldn't serve the public because they wouldn't be able to report on criminal actions by hidden handgun licensees.

"This is bad public policy on so many levels that it boggles the mind. What the legislators have essentially done is allow government only to have that data, so therefore the public has no way to answer any questions about the holders of these permits," Davis said. "This essentially says there is no public interest in knowing who has concealed weapons permits, and I would disagree fundamentally with that."

The Missouri Press Association, which represents the state's daily and weekly newspapers, objects to the closed records and will seek to get the records opened next year, said executive director Doug Crews.

Crawford said he would be willing to discuss "technical changes," perhaps including the records closure.

"But I'd rather let the law work for a couple of years," the lawmaker said.

Missouri became the 45th state to authorize concealed guns in some fashion, with the override of Holden's veto. Advocates say the laws have contributed to drops in violent crime by deterring criminals unsure whether a potential victim might be armed. Holden and other critics say more guns in circulation will lead to more gun violence.

ON THE NET

Missouri concealed guns law: www.house.state.mo.us/bills03/biltxt/truly/HB0349T.HTM

National Rifle Association: www.nra.org

Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence: www.bradycampaign.com