Lawmakers weigh three- veto impact

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- From 1855 until this year, the Missouri Legislature had successfully overridden gubernatorial vetoes a mere three times.

In the space of about 21 hours last week, lawmakers matched the total it took their predecessors nearly a century and a half to achieve.

By trumping Gov. Bob Holden on bills related to concealed weapons, abortion waiting periods and limiting government lawsuits against the gun industry, the Republican-led legislature made the Democrat the most overridden chief executive in Missouri history.

Holden said he would leave it for others to analyze the political implications of overrides, which he didn't take personally.

"I knew these were very controversial issues and that I very well might be overridden," Holden said. "But I thought it was very important that I indicate to the people of the state which direction I thought we should go, so I vetoed those bills."

Up for re-election in 2004, Holden is facing a likely primary challenge from State Auditor Claire McCaskill, who has criticized the governor and Republican lawmakers for their mutual rancor. Secretary of State Matt Blunt is the presumed GOP nominee for the office.

Senate President Pro Tem Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, said the legislature's action shows Holden is "outside of the mainstream" on important issues.

"The proof in the pudding there is the number of Democrats who joined the united Republican caucus in voting to override," Kinder said.

Though the totals and individuals involved varied slightly per bill, roughly two dozen, mainly rural Democrats helped deliver the two-thirds majorities in each chamber that was necessary to bypass Holden.

Holden not weak

One Democrat who voted to override on all three bills, state Rep. Wes Wagner of De Soto, said Holden shouldn't be perceived as weak because some in the party split with him on those issues. That Democrats tolerate diversity of opinion on abortion and guns is one of the party's strengths, Wagner said.

"The governor's office made it very clear that Democrats should vote their districts," Wagner said. "I think that is what makes our party great."

Wagner noted Democrats largely stuck with Holden in sustaining vetoes of bills on tort reform, foster care and other matters.

Even House Speaker Catherine Hanaway, R-Warson Woods, saw little significance in the Democratic defections considering the strong feelings the abortion and gun issues generate.

"I think on these issues people make up their minds before they file for office," Hanaway said. "These are the kinds of core issues that transcend parties."

While the three new laws will take effect in mid-October, the concealed weapons measure will take many months to implement. Under the bill, eligible residents can apply with their local sheriff for a conceal-and-carry permit, which must be granted provided the applicant pays the $100 fee, completes a training course and passes a background check.

There should be no delay on the other measures. One will require women seeking an abortion to wait 24 hours after consulting with a doctor before undergoing the procedure. The other bars state and local governments from suing firearms manufacturers and dealers over the social costs of gun violence.

During the long-standing and divisive concealed weapons debate, Republicans had successfully championed it to gain ground in rural Missouri. Having a conceal-and-carry law on the books could ultimately prove beneficial to the governor and the Democratic Party by taking away a key plank in the GOP platform, said House Minority Leader Mark Abel, D-Festus.

"That will no longer be an issue, and the next election will be decided on issues we think people in outstate Missouri are really interested in -- education, jobs and health care for their citizens," Abel said.

However, the victory on concealed weapons gives Republicans, who are in their first year running both legislative chambers, a success they can trumpet in next year's elections.

Kinder noted rural Missouri voters overwhelmingly supported a 1999 ballot issue on concealed weapons that failed due to strong urban opposition.

"It may be off the table, but I think folks in 104 counties that voted for this 4 1/2 years ago will not forget that it was this governor who did not trust them with a right already exercised by the vast majority of Americans," Kinder said. "They will remember in November 2004."

mpowers@semissourian.com

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