Citing the safety of Missouri citizens, Gov. Jay Nixon (D) on Monday vetoed a bill that would have removed the vetting process for individuals seeking to carry a concealed firearm throughout the state.
In a four-page letter to Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander, Nixon said that he disapproved of SB 656 because citizens would be able to bypass the training, education, background check, and permit requirements currently needed to carry a concealed firearm in spaces where it is allowed.
The Republican-controlled general assembly passed the bill on May 13, the last day of the legislative session.
The bill would have also allowed residents and nonresidents alike to carry a concealed firearm even when they have been denied a permit due to criminal offenses or because a state sheriff believed they posed a danger to the public, the governor’s office said in a news release Monday.
As noted in the Kansas City Star, “Under current Missouri law, gun owners may legally ‘open carry’ a weapon anywhere that does not expressly forbid the practice. Carrying a concealed weapon requires a permit.”
The bill also would have created a “stand your ground” law—the kind of policy often cited with regard to the murder of Trayvon Martin—and reduced the penalty for carrying a firearm into a prohibited space from a felony to a misdemeanor.
Additionally, the bill would have allowed those seeking a concealed carry permit to obtain a version of the document that never expires.
Nixon noted he signed a bill passed by the general assembly in 2013 that affirmed the role of Missouri sheriffs in issuing and denying concealed carry permits. In some cases, police chiefs can also issue permits.
“As Governor, I have signed bills to expand the rights of law-abiding Missourians to carry concealed and am always willing to consider ways to further improve our [carry and conceal weapon] process,” Nixon said. “But I cannot support the extreme step of throwing out that process entirely, eliminating sensible protections like background checks and training requirements, and taking away the ability of sheriffs to protect their communities.”
Nixon went on to say individuals who have pleaded guilty to a felony, 18-year-old high school students, and persons convicted of a misdemeanor assault, among others, could automatically could carry a concealed weapon “without scrutiny, training or notification,” if he did not veto the proposed law. Those individuals are currently forbidden from obtaining permits.
Missouri’s current concealed weapon process has been in place since 2003. The required procedure includes taking a mandatory course of at least eight hours that covers handgun safety, the principles of marksmanship, safe firearms storage, and the Missouri law.
In addition to classroom education, individuals must demonstrate that he or she can safety load and unload a handgun and successfully complete a live firing exercise that includes 20 rounds at a target, among other tasks.
Nixon’s veto garnered support from Kansas City Mayor Sly James, Kansas City Police Chief Darryl Forté, the Missouri Police Chiefs Association and the Missouri Fraternal Order of Police, according to Nixon’s office and local news reports.
The veto comes as Missouri and the rest of the nation grapple with mass shootings in Orlando, Florida, and San Bernardino, California, as well as the high number of firearm deaths nationwide.
Firearms led to 33,636 deaths nationwide in 2013, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s most recent data.
Bill sponsor Sen. Brian Munzlinger (R-Lewis County) invoked those recent mass shootings in criticizing Nixon’s veto, saying lawmakers should be doing all they could to ensure “the citizens of Missouri have the ability to protect themselves,” according to the Kansas City Star.
Many Republican senators anticipate overriding Nixon’s veto when the general assembly returns to the state capitol in September, also according to the newspaper.
State senator and Secretary of State hopeful Will Kraus (R-Lee’s Summit), for example, said in a statement that he hoped lawmakers would override the bill later this year. House Speaker Todd Richardson (R-Poplar Bluff) reportedly made similar remarks.
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