NEW PETITION DRIVE FOR VOTE ON CARRYING CONCEALED GUNS

A group of Missourian gun owners were at the SEMO Gun Show Saturday trying to drum up interest in Vermont.

That state has no laws one way or the other on concealed carry, so residents and non-residents alike can carry a gun without a permit. Because no permit is required, there is no application process.

Stephen Umscheid, a representative of the Vermont Project, gathered names on petitions at the gun show, being held at the Arena Building in Cape Girardeau. The Vermont Project is an initiative petition drive in Missouri to return the issue of concealed carry to the ballot.

"We have almost a year to collect nearly 100,000 signatures from registered voters," Umscheid said. "If we collect sufficient signatures, on November 5, 2002, the people will again get a chance to vote on the issue of concealed carry."

Concealed carry was put to a vote in 1999, and barely missed passage, 52 to 48 percent.

The Vermont Project's petition calls for a repeal of the Missouri laws that prohibit concealed carry, based on Vermont, the only state that never passed a law against its citizens carrying. Proponents of the petition say Vermont has one of the lowest crime rates in the nation.

The Vermont Project drive actually started shortly after the Proposition B vote.

"But we started too late to get the signatures we needed in time for last year's election," Umscheid said.

Umscheid said more emphasis had to be placed in the metropolitan areas. Proposition B lost because of strong opposition in urban centers such as St. Louis and Kansas City. Rural areas backed it.

Umscheid, a St. Louis computer programmer, said his group is made up of area gun owners concerned about the concealed weapons issue.

The gun show drew large crowds Saturday, and the show continues today. The Vermont Project booth was a popular one, as gun enthusiasts lined up to sign petitions.