Police worry about law that allows guns in cars

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri's new concealed weapons law allows everyone 21 and older to hide a loaded firearm in the passenger compartment of a vehicle, but some law enforcement officials don't know whether it can be enforced.

The state Supreme Court last week upheld the law, which allows Missourians 23 and older to carry a concealed weapon after they pass a firearm safety course as well as state and federal background checks. But even some lawmen who support conceal-and-carry say they are worried about allowing unlicensed people to hide firearms in a car.

"Bad things can happen when you allow anyone to carry a concealed weapon," said Lebanon police chief Sam Mustard. "It's just a bad situation for them, not knowing whether there can be a weapon there."

Mustard noted that the safety measures folded into the conceal-and-carry provision allow a margin of safety. But allowing all adults to hide loaded firearms in their cars without passing a background check or gun safety class concerns him, he said.

Other law enforcement around the state also said they were concerned about the possible danger to officers.

"This law, the way it was passed, especially with the 21-year-olds being able to have a loaded concealable firearm, puts my officers and every police officer in the state of Missouri in harm's way," said Carl Wolf, police chief in the St. Louis suburb of Hazelwood. "We will take every action necessary to ensure my officers' safety."

Officers would not be tearing cars apart to find weapons, but "we will use extra caution," Wolf said.

In the Kansas City suburb of Liberty, police chief Craig Knouse said police officers' traditional greeting -- "May I see your driver's license and registration?" -- will go by the wayside. Officers there will now ask a longer question: "May I see your driver's license, registration, and do you have a weapon in this vehicle or on your person?"

"The new law enables people 21 years of age or older to carry a gun in their car without a permit -- that's the one thing that concerns me the most," Knouse said. "Having folks able to have weapons available to them without the training process" and the background checks puts law enforcement officers in danger, he said.

Wolf said his officers also would probably ask motorists whether they have a firearm in the car. An officer who becomes aware of a weapon in the vehicle will then check to make sure it's legal. Wolf said he expects to be confiscating numerous stolen or illegal guns.

"If we find somebody that does have a weapon in the vehicle, we are going to check to make sure that that firearm belongs to them," Wolf said. "One of our goals is to return lost or stolen firearms to their proper owners. It's very easy for people in the state of Missouri to show that that concealable firearm is theirs."

But by and large, law enforcement from rural counties did not seem concerned with having concealed firearms in cars.

"You approach every vehicle like they're potentially a problem," said Atchison County Sheriff Dennis D. Martin. "Any officer that does not do that is looking for a problem. If you don't approach people with caution, then you run the risk of getting shot."

Barry County Sheriff Mick Epperly agreed.

"It won't change our procedure as far as traffic stops," Epperly said. "We have to treat each and every one that they could be with a weapon."

Tim Oliver, a private investigator and firearms instructor who lobbied for the concealed-gun law, said it's standard practice for an officer making a traffic stop to call in the license plate of the vehicle to find out about the driver before stepping out of the patrol car.

"They already are instructed to approach every car as if there could be a deadly weapon in it. Now, with the qualifications required for a permit under the law, the officer knows that the person is a certified, state-approved good guy," Oliver said.