New law fuels handgun sales increase in SW Missouri

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) -- A $10 discount -- of sorts -- for prospective handgun buyers is fueling a surge in sales for southwest Missouri's gun dealers.

State law used to require a $10 sheriff's permit fee for handgun purchasers, but the Legislature dropped that requirement earlier this year.

Now that the fee is history, gun dealers said they're noticing that buyers are completing layaway purchases they started before lawmakers rescinded the fee.

"We had a lot of guns, about 25, on layaway because people didn't want to pay that $10 permit fee or they just didn't want to get a permit on principle," said Liliana Owen, the co-owner of Doc Holliday's General Store in Ozark. "Everybody's pretty happy with it."

Cory Loftis, a salesman at Loftis Jewelry and Pawnbrokers in Springfield, also noted that trend. By midafternoon Tuesday, Loftis said, the store had made 16 sales, including 11 to layaway customers.

Also, he said, "We've noticed more people are buying multiple handguns. Before, if you wanted to buy three handguns you had to get three sheriff's permits at $10 apiece. Now you don't."

Buyers still must pass an instant federal background check, but private citizens making handgun sales no longer have to obtain a sheriff's permit.

That opens the possibility of someone being able to buy a handgun without undergoing the required background check. But for those who want to make private transactions while still complying with the law, several dealers said they would be willing to act as brokers.

Loftis said his store would broker private sales for a $15 fee.

"That would help stop a convicted felon from getting a gun from a private seller," he said.

The new law is not likely to aid criminals, Springfield police spokesman Grant Story said, because they likely didn't obey the old one, either.

"Often the people we have problems with are ones that acquire guns illegally," Story said. "They're not going to follow gun laws to begin with. Those who take the time to fill out those forms and get a background check know that gun can be traced back to them."

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Information from: Springfield News-Leader, http://www.springfieldnews-leader.com