Override putting pressure on gun teachers, sheriffs

More than 60,000 Missourians are expected to apply for permits for concealed guns beginning Oct. 11. And because training is a prerequisite, the expected rush for the right to bear hidden firearms could put tremendous pressure on Missouri's firearms instructors.

Experience elsewhere suggests there will be an influx of applicants immediately after Missouri's concealed-gun law takes effect -- much like the crunch to get playoff tickets to a professional sporting event.

Missourians already are getting on lists for training courses needed to qualify for concealed-gun permits.

"We've already started a list of people who want to be put in a class," said Alan Reiman, manager of Re Armms Inc., a firearms dealer and trainer in Sikeston, Mo. "Most of them are locals, and looking at the names, I know most are competent and professional. I could just about give a character reference on everyone. There's not a name on here that I'd say, 'Boy, I'd hate to see him carrying a weapon.'"

The Missouri Legislature overrode Gov. Bob Holden's veto of the concealed-guns legislation Thursday. The legislation allows adults age 23 and older to apply to their county sheriffs for concealed gun permits. To be approved, applicants must pass a criminal background check and complete an eight-hour training course from an instructor certified by a government agency or the National Rifle Association.

The phone at Shooters Gun Shop in Cape Girardeau has also been ringing quite a bit, said manager Vince Bowman. People are asking about training, but there aren't any easy answers.

"Right now we're in limbo on it," he said.

He said the state's sheriffs will need to jointly agree on some basic certification standards before the confusion is cleared up. With background checks taking about 45 days, those seeking permits are in for a considerable wait, he said.

The Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department has received about a dozen calls asking about obtaining permits, said Capt. Ruth Ann Dickerson. Applying for a permit will cost $100, and renewals are $50. The permit must be renewed every three years.

"Pretty well everyone understands this won't be available for 30 days or so," she said. "But we haven't had anyone come in the building and say they wanted to fill something out."

But in Scott County, residents are doing more than just calling in, said Capt. Jerry Bledsoe of the Scott County Sheriff's Department.

"We've gotten an e-mail, a guy stopped by here wanting to be put on a list and a guy went to the Miner Police Department the next day after he saw it on the news," Bledsoe said. "We've had numerous inquiries. I'm sure they'd fill out applications now, if we had any."

Legislators have put sheriffs in a tough spot, he said.

"This is another duty that's going to be dumped on sheriff's offices that will put a burden on many departments that are already understaffed and underbudgeted," Bledsoe said. "Until this is set up and running smoothly, it's going to take some time."

Some background checks may present obstacles, he said.

"It's difficult enough if you've got an in-state person who's lived here all his life and wants a permit," he said. "But it gets really hard if someone moves here from out of state and wants to get certified to carry a concealed weapon."

Requirements unclear

Questions from callers mostly concerned the specific training requirements, something local gun dealers and law enforcement are not sure about at this point.

The NRA did not have figures Monday for how many of its nearly 47,000 certified instructors nationwide reside in Missouri. Concealed gun applicants might also be able to go to any of 18 regional law enforcement training centers in the state, and the Missouri Sheriffs' Association may start a traveling training course to help meet public demand, said the group's executive director, Jim Vermeersch.

Missouri is the 36th state, and the fourth this year, to adopt a concealed guns law backed by the NRA. As in many of those states, Missouri's law says a sheriff "shall issue" a permit to qualified applicants.

Colorado, which previously gave sheriffs more discretion in issuing concealed gun permits, implemented its "shall issue" law May 17 while expecting about 21,500 new applicants in the first year.

At the start of this week, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation had received 4,404 requests for concealed gun background checks, of which 14 had been declared ineligible and another 149 could be, said Susan Kitchen, who heads the bureau's background check program.

Part of the reason for the slower-than-expected pace is the backlog to take training courses, she said.

"We sort of thought this would be like a python that had eaten a goat. You expect this huge influx up front that moves through the system," Kitchen said. "But we didn't really get that rush up front."

Even so, almost twice as many people have applied for concealed-gun permits since the new law took effect as had applied during an average full year under the old law, she said.

In Minnesota, nearly 8,000 handgun permits have been granted by sheriffs since a "shall issue" law took effect May 28, and another 2,300 applications are pending. That's almost equal to the total number of people who held permits last year under a more restrictive law.

Missouri's projection of 62,000 first-year concealed-gun applicants is based largely on figures from Texas, where 1 percent of the state's total population applied for permits when a similar law took effect in 1996.

Buffer time

In New Mexico, the concealed-guns law that took effect July 1 provides a six-month window for officials to come up with rules and regulations, so the permits won't be issued until Jan. 1.

Some Missouri sheriffs and gun trainers may have preferred a similar buffer. Had Holden not vetoed the bill, the concealed-guns law would have taken effect Aug. 28, giving officials three months from the end of the legislative session to prepare for it. But bills made law by veto overrides automatically take effect 30 days after the legislature's vote, thus shortening the preparation time.

Vermeersch said the sheriffs' association is developing a standard application form and certificate to be used by sheriffs when Missouri's program begins. It will be the only official documentation available until the state starts noting concealed-gun permits on driver's licenses July 1.

Staff writer Mike Wells contributed to this report.