cuchulainn
Member
from the Springfield News Leader
http://www.news-leader.com/today/1009-Lawsuitisn-187422.html
http://www.news-leader.com/today/1009-Lawsuitisn-187422.html
Published October 9, 2003
Lawsuit isn't likely to dampen concealed gun growth
By Ryan Slight
News-Leader Staff
Bart Westerman recalled two couples entering his Springfield gun shop this week seeking firearms they could eventually carry concealed.
One wanted a pistol for the woman, who worked late hours, he said. The other just felt it was their right to carry a concealed weapon.
The local gun dealer said those couples and other Springfield-area potential concealed carriers will not likely feel deterred by a lawsuit filed Wednesday against the state and Attorney General Jay Nixon in St. Louis City Circuit Court by opponents of Missouri's new concealed-gun law.
"If anything, it may aggravate them, and may prompt them to (get a concealed gun permit)," said Westerman, owner of Gunsmoke Gun and Pawn on Chestnut Expressway. "If they are good citizens, they should be entitled to this."
The lawsuit brought by 10 Kansas City and St. Louis-area plaintiffs seeks both an injunction blocking the law from taking effect Saturday and a permanent declaration striking it down.
Dennis Naber, owner of Ozark Gun Traders and Pawn in Ozark, called the lawsuit a "sour grapes" attempt by some in urban areas to stop state legislative action.
"Why should the rest of the state be on a string for St. Louis and Kansas City? We have rights here," Naber said.
The lawsuit's lead plaintiff, Kansas City Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem Alvin Brooks, contends the bill has "too many loopholes."
Other plaintiffs include Hazelwood Police Chief Carl Wolf, Bishop Willie James Ellis of the New Northside Baptist Church in St. Louis, Pastor B.T. Rice of the New Horizon Christian Church in St. Louis, St. Louis Alderman Lyda Krewson, Jackson County legislator Scott Burnett and a St. Louis-based nonprofit group called the Institute for Peace and Justice.
Three Democratic senators who voted against the bill are also plaintiffs: Sens. Joan Bray, Rita Heard Days and Maida Coleman, all of St. Louis.
"The Missouri Constitution says that citizens should not carry concealed weapons," Coleman said. "Maybe it doesn't keep the legislature from saying it's all right to carry concealed weapons, but I like the basic interpretation of it."
The suit claims a provision of the Missouri Constitution dating to 1875 prohibits the wearing of concealed firearms.
That section of Missouri's Bill of Rights declares "that the right of every citizen to keep and bear arms in defense of his home, person and property ... shall not be questioned; but this shall not justify the wearing of concealed weapons."
Nixon spokesman Scott Holste declined to comment about the lawsuit's merits. But the state is likely to argue that plaintiffs are misconstruing that provision.
The lawsuit also alleges the new law unconstitutionally imposes a requirement on counties without providing funding to cover the increased costs.
In addition, it claims the legislature unconstitutionally usurped the power of the people by passing a law similar to one that voters narrowly rejected in an April 1999 referendum.
The legislature voted Sept. 11 to override Gov. Bob Holden's veto of the concealed guns bill, meaning the law automatically would take effect 30 days after the vote.
The law allows Missourians age 23 and older who pay $100 and pass a criminal background check and an eight-hour training course to receive permits from their county sheriffs to carry concealed guns.
It also allows anyone age 21 or older to conceal a gun in a vehicle without need of a permit.
But before St. Louis Circuit Judge Steven Ohmer decides whether the new concealed guns law violates the Constitution, he must first decide whether he or a judge in the state's capital city has the proper authority to hear the case.
Nixon immediately asked on Wednesday that the case be transferred to Cole County. Ohmer began hearing arguments but continued the case until today and made no immediate decision on the proper venue for the lawsuit.
"Although some of the plaintiffs are residents of St. Louis City, neither the State of Missouri nor the Attorney General are residents of St. Louis City. And neither defendant 'may be found' in St. Louis City for purposes of satisfying the venue law," Nixon's motion said.
The lawsuit has not slowed interest in training courses for concealed carry permits at Missouri Southern State University, which is one of six training locations approved by the Greene County Sheriff's Department.
Courses there are fully booked up to two or three weeks ahead, said Wayne Thomason, director of the MSSU law enforcement academy.
"If the court issued an injunction to set back the date to hear further testimony, I think the interest will still be strong, although it may slow the process," Thomason said.
Permit interest also remains strong among trainees at Springfield-based 21st Century Peacekeepers, despite the threat of an injunction, said co-owner David Vallely.
"Most people just want them for self-protection and not worrying about what they would do in a life-threatening situation," he said. "It's just plain self-protection."
Some desiring concealed carry permits reside in southwest Missouri's rural areas, including some women who live on farms alone, Thomason said.
"With the number of methamphetamine labs found out there, they feel safer having a weapon with them," he said.
Naber said his Ozark gun shop has done brisk business since the law was passed, and receives at least 25 calls daily about concealed weapons. The challenge is locating training sites, he said.
"That's the problem now," Naber said. "All the courses are jammed."
Local gun shop owners said several professionals seek concealed weapons. Naber said a psychiatrist recently sought a weapon because she felt threatened by a client.
Interest in permits in some southwest Missouri counties has been high. In Polk County, up to 50 people are on a waiting list, Sheriff Michael Parson said.
He still planned to schedule a public forum around late October to clarify questions about the bill.
Stone County Sheriff Richard Hill, a proponent of the concealed carry legislation, said his office still gets numerous calls from rural residents interested in permits.
"They give no one purpose other than it's their right to," Hill said. "The Constitution gives them that right."
The sheriff did not anticipate the permits causing funding problems for his county, noting that application fees cover expenses.
"It's not an amount any county will get rich over," he said, "but it is an assist to the county budget."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2003, The Springfield News-Leader