LETTERS: CONCEALED WEAPONS AREN'T THE CURE

To the editor:

Missourians face an April 6 ballot initiative, sponsored by the National Rifle Association, which would radically liberize our state's carry-concealed weapons law. Currently, Missouri does not allow the general public to carry concealed weapons outside of one's private property. If Proposition B is approved, county sheriffs would issue permits to nonfelons who are at least 21 years old and have passed a 12-hour handgun safety course. The state auditor estimates that if the referendum passes, 62,000 Missouri residents will get the permits, greatly increasing the chanes that the individuals we encounter in our everyday lives will be armed.

Hazelwood Police Chief Carl Wolf, president-elect of the Missouri Police Chiefs Association, said that people convicted of such crimes as stalking, third-degree assault and sexual misconduct could get concealed weapons permits if the proposal becomes law. He said the claim that Missouri's law "would be one of the toughest in the country" is false. There are 14 states that limit concealed weapons permits to only those who can demonstate a specific need for them, while another 19 are more restrictive than Missouri's proposal by prohibiting where a weapon could be carried, such as bars and sporting events.

For years, the NRA has been trying to get state legislatures to pass lax carry-concealed weapons laws. They clai that putting more guns on our streets reduces crime, despite the fact that almost every major law enforcement organization in the country opposes the idea. Would legalizing concealed weapons make life safer in Missouri? According to the FBI, from 1996 to 1997 the nation's overall crime rate dropped 3.2 percent. During that period, crime fell faster in states that have strict carrying concealed weapons or don't have lax carrying concealed weapons laws. The decline in crime rate of strict licensing and no-carry states was 2.1 times that of states with lax carrying-concealed weapons laws. Vilent crime fell even faster in states with strict carry laws, 4.9 percent in restrictive states compared to 3 percent in lax states. Over a five-year period, violent crime in the strict and no-issue states fell 24.8 percent compared to 11.4 percent in the lax states.

Contrary to the arguments of the NRA, making it easier for citizens to carry concealed weapons does not reduce crime. More concealed handguns on our streets is not the answer. The way to fight crime is to punish criminals, especially violent criminals, and to make it difficult for cirminals to get guns in the first place.

KEITH S. WHEELER

Jackson