http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/ne...DBC9209BC0F3521E862571190064AB9B?OpenDocument
Concealed gun law has little impact
By Heather Ratcliffe
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
02/18/2006
Some expected less violence. Some expected more.
But two years after the Legislature provided permission for qualified Missourians to carry concealed firearms, neither side of the controversial measure seems to have a license to say, "I told you so."
Police say crime has not dropped since residents began to legally arm themselves. Neither does the number of unjustified or accidental shootings appear to be up. Few officials can even recall anyone with a permit firing a gun, deliberately or inadvertently.
"I had no idea what to expect," said St. Louis County Police Chief Jerry Lee. "To be honest, it's really been a non-event."
His county, with about one million residents, issued about 1,500 permits. That's approximately 1.5 for every 1,000 people. The rate in the city of St. Louis is a little lower, about 1 per 1,000. In the much less densely populated Franklin County, the ratio jumps to 6.5 per 1,000.
When the Legislature established concealed-carry permits in 2004, the Missouri State Highway Patrol expected 60,000 to be issued statewide the first year.
"We were nowhere near that," Capt. Chris Ricks said recently.
The patrol processed about 23,000 criminal background checks for permits in 2004 and 2005. The permits themselves are issued by local sheriffs or, in the case of St. Louis County, the county police.
There is no way to estimate the total number of armed Missourians, Ricks said, because the same law allows anyone who meets the concealed-carry requirements to keep a loaded gun in a vehicle without getting a permit.
Sheriffs reported being bombarded with applicants in the first few weeks, but requests soon slowed to about a dozen a week in most St. Louis area counties. Some say they see a surge in applications after a local instructor holds a gun safety course; attendance is required for a permit.
"There's not even a clear profile of a typical applicant," said St. Charles County Sheriff Tom Neer. "They are rich, poor, black and white."
He added, "Other than being time-consuming ... there's been not much of an impact on our agency."
Each county in the region reports denying about a dozen applications - mostly because a record check uncovers an old criminal conviction.
"I still don't think it makes any sense for all of us to be packing guns in our pocketbooks and our cars," said St. Louis Alderwoman Lyda Krewson, who was widowed in 1995 by an armed carjacker and who lobbied against the law. "We just have a situation where there are more guns on the street."
She added, "I don't think as a public that we are safer or better off."
Krewson said she also didn't think there was much chance to get the permit law repealed. "It's not a hot issue for everybody," she said. "But some people will remember when they go to the polls to vote on their state senator or representative."
Zachary Bauer, a computer graphics designer who co-founded a group called Missouri Carry, said experience elsewhere made it clear that permit holders weren't likely to run amok.
"There was no blood in the streets in other states, why would in happen here?" he asked.
He also said it would be wrong to expect a noticeable effect on crime right away.
"It is not going to solve crime," Bauer said. "We're still going to have crime. But now at least people have a way to protect themselves."
Joe Mokwa of St. Louis was one of several police chiefs who campaigned against concealed-carry legislation. A main concern for him was that law-abiding people would help feed the supply of guns in the hands of criminals by leaving firearms in parked cars, vulnerable to theft.
And that has happened on numerous occasions, he said.
He pointed to a case in August 2004, when police exchanged shots at a fast food restaurant with occupants of a stolen truck whose owner had left his handgun inside.
Mokwa said there were several incidents in which someone reported the theft of several weapons from a car, although the department does not keep statistics on such occurrences.
St. Louis County police reported a slight increase in the number of guns stolen from vehicles in the unincorporated county. In 2003, there were 14; that rose to 23 last year.
The law bans even permit holders from carrying guns into specific places, such as stadiums and schools, and allows business to post guns off-limits, which many have. Presumably, armed people leave their firearms in their cars when visiting such locations.
Missouri Carry sells vehicle gun safes, to cut down on such thefts.
"You don't want to leave your gun in your car if you don't have to," Bauer said. "It's not basic gun safety."
Jefferson County Sheriff Oliver "Glenn" Boyer said many officials worried that the mandatory eight-hour gun safety course was too basic. He said the Missouri Sheriff's Association was asking for legislation to expand that to 40 hours of training.
"I think we are short-changing citizens by not requiring more training," Boyer said.
Jeremy Kohler of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.
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