Missouri: "Judges expedite gun-law hearing"

[cuchulainn]

from the Kansas City Star

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/7303999.htm

Thu, Nov. 20, 2003

Judges expedite gun-law hearing
Court to consider suit on Jan. 22
By TIM HOOVER
The Kansas City Star

JEFFERSON CITY — The Missouri Supreme Court agreed Wednesday to accelerate consideration of a lawsuit challenging the state's new concealed weapons law.

Attorney General Jay Nixon's office, which is charged with defending the law, had requested that the court speed up the process and give the lawsuit a Dec. 2 hearing. The group of concealed-carry opponents that filed the lawsuit had asked that the court hold a hearing no earlier than Feb. 9.

The Supreme Court instead scheduled a Jan. 22 hearing, which will put the case before judges considerably earlier than if it had followed the normal process.

The new law would allow Missourians 23 and older who pass a background check and undergo training to carry concealed handguns.

The high court on Oct. 13 refused to lift a temporary injunction that St. Louis Circuit Judge Steven Ohmer placed on the new law Oct. 10, the day before the measure was to take effect. On Nov. 7, Ohmer granted a permanent injunction against the law, ruling that it violated the Missouri Constitution.

At issue is a section of the constitution that says: “That the right of every person to keep and bear arms in defense of his home, person and property, or when lawfully summoned in aid of the civil power, shall not be questioned; but this shall not justify the wearing of concealed weapons.â€

Concealed-carry opponents contend this language was added to the constitution to prohibit the carrying of concealed weapons. Nixon's office, along with gun-rights groups such as the National Rifle Association, argue that the language merely says that citizens do not have an explicit right to carry concealed weapons and that lawmakers can regulate the practice.

Also Wednesday, Nixon's office submitted a 61-page brief outlining the state's position in the case.