CONCEALED-WEAPONS BILL SHOULD BE SENT TO THE GOVERNOR

For at least the fifth consecutive year, the issue of concealed weapons is before the Missouri General Assembly, this time in the form of a bill sponsored by Sen. Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau. A similar House bill has been introduced by Rep. Wayne Crump, D-Potosi. As expressed in prior floor votes, both House and Senate, the proposal enjoys overwhelming bipartisan support. Lawmakers should fully debate the matter and pass the measure, daring Gov. Mel Carnahan to make good on his veto threat.

Hearings were held late last month on Senate Bill 159, which would extend to Missourians the right enjoyed by citizens of more than 30 other states: the right to apply to the sheriff for a permit to carry a concealed weapon. Applicants would pay $75 and would be required to prove they are at least 21 years old, have no history of drug or alcohol abuse, have no history of violent behavior in the last five years and have completed a 16-hour firearms safety course, among other requirements. Upon satisfying these requirements, an applicant would be entitled to the permit.

In states that have passed a version of the measure, the evidence is piling up that conceal/carry is a good self-defense, anti-crime measure with much to commend it. These states include hugely populous states such as Texas (passed in 1995) and Florida (1987). By 1995, Federal Bureau of Investigation statistics showed a 29 percent drop in homicides in the Sunshine State. A major study from the University of Chicago last year further bolstered the case for conceal/carry, demonstrating that crimes against persons -- rape, murder, assault -- sharply decreased, while crimes against undefended property -- auto theft, burglary -- actually rose. It would appear that the criminal element knows that conceal/carry works.

Missourians must not be the last Americans to receive this extension of the fundamental right of self-defense. Lawmakers should just say yes to conceal/carry.