STATE CONSIDERS CONCEALED GUNS

From officials in the legislature to buddies in the coffee shop, Missourians bicker about the concealed weapons issue.

In March, a bill proposing to put a right-to-carry law to a Missouri Senate vote was narrowly defeated. A similar joint resolution is alive in the legislature, but local lawmakers predict it won't be considered before the end of the session May 17.

If it isn't, Missouri will remain among seven states where concealed weapons are prohibited. The others are Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio and Wisconsin. The District of Columbia also prohibits concealed weapons.

All the hullabaloo over right-to-carry has some wondering how to interpret Missouri's current concealed weapons law. The answer is narrowly, according to Attorney General Jay Nixon.

Excluded from Section 571.030 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri -- the state's concealed weapons law -- are state, county and municipal law enforcement officers; wardens and prison guards; members of the armed forces while on duty; and other persons who execute process.

Sen. Bill Kenney, R-Lee's Summit, a right-to-carry supporter, questioned the last exclusion. A Missouri Supreme Court rule says a process server may be "a person over the age of 18 years who is not a party to the action," so Kenney wondered if nearly anyone would be allowed to carry concealed weapons.

Nixon said no. In his opinion dated April 9, he said other rules and state laws define more specifically who can serve process, and these people must be authorized and have a "bona fide duty" to do so, according to law.

But other people involved with execution of the law, such as judges and prosecuting attorneys, may carry concealed weapons.

The state law also defines concealed weapons, although some determination is left to the courts. Cape Girardeau Police Chief Howard Boyd Jr. said it would be difficult to prove a baseball bat on the back floorboard of a car was a concealed weapon.

"But if it's a 12-inch iron pipe wrapped with tape, there would be no question," he said.

Specifically, the law prohibits concealing "a knife, a firearm, a blackjack or any other weapon readily capable of lethal use."

Knives with blades under 4 inches long -- which includes most pocket knives -- don't count, the law says.

Broader right-to-carry legislation has some surprising supporters, including Boyd. Even though the Missouri Police Chiefs Association vocally opposes right-to-carry laws, Boyd makes no secret of his stance, and Cape Girardeau's 66 unlawful-use-of-a-weapon violations in 1995 don't bear on his feelings.

"A lot of states passed these laws in the last three or four years," he said. "Opponents predicted a bloodbath, but that hasn't been the case. Florida is a very populated state, and its crime rate has dropped at the same rate Missouri's has gone up."

The FBI Uniform Crime Reports back Boyd's statement. Florida passed its right-to-carry law in 1987, and the state's homicide rate has dropped 27 percent since. The firearm homicide rate dropped 34 percent.

Boyd said he would support any right-to-carry law that included exhaustive background checks of felonies, drug and alcohol abuse, violence-related misdemeanors, ex parte orders and mental incompetence.

He also wants required education for gun owners before a concealed-carry permit would be issued. They would have to prove familiarity and dexterity with their weapons, Boyd said.

He is particularly interested in a bill by Sen. Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, that would allow retired law enforcement officers to carry concealed weapons. Kinder said he had hoped to tack on right-to-carry amendments, but the Senate probably won't get to consider the bill at all.

Kinder said he wants to give Missourians the same rights as people in 42 other states.

"I think it is time to remove the government guarantee to criminals that they will have unarmed victims," he said.

Rep. Mary Kasten, R-Cape Girardeau, agreed with her fellow legislator. "I think the criminals carry concealed weapons anyway," she said. "There are situations where it would be good for law-abiding citizens to protect themselves, like people working at night."

Other elected officials disagree, including Gov. Mel Carnahan. Locally, Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle is opposed to a right-to-carry law.

Although Swingle could carry a concealed weapon, he doesn't. During one case where he felt his life was in danger, he asked police to provide backup security.

Swingle joked that he would be more dangerous to the public than to the attacker, although he does believe in protecting one's own home with a firearm, if necessary.

He pointed out a unique provision in the current law that forced him to drop a few concealed weapons charges. Missouri's first concealed weapons law was passed in 1909, and doesn't apply to people who are traveling continuously on a peaceable journey across the state.

While the "journey" can't be from Sprigg Street to Kingshighway, it may be from Cape Girardeau to St. Louis, or from Arkansas to Michigan through Missouri.

And someone may drive around with a gun on the front seat of his car or in a holster on his leg. Concealed means just that -- out of sight.

But Swingle said he doesn't like the idea of people carrying weapons on a daily basis. It would force some minor altercations into major shoot-outs, he said.

"My dad was a state trooper, and some of my earliest memories were of him strapping on his guns for work," Swingle said.

"It's one thing to watch a highway patrolman doing that," he said, "but it strikes me as a sad state of affairs when a child has to watch a chiropractor, a salesman or a lawyer strap on a weapon before going to work."