JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Following another weekend of violence in both St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri voters could get to decide if counties should be allowed to enact their own firearm regulations.
Missouri is perceived by some to have some of the laxest gun laws in the country. Since the General Assembly isn’t making any moves to strengthen state statute, a new nonprofit said it wants to give counties the opportunity to approve their own rules on the access and carrying of firearms.
“When one goes from county to county, encounters different traffic laws, different regulations of all kinds, we see no reason why that same logic shouldn’t apply to firearm regulations,” Richard Rosenfeld said.
Rosenfeld is part of a new nonprofit, Sensible Missouri, who hopes to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot next November to allow counties and St. Louis to approve their own rules. Missouri is currently an open carry state, meaning concealed carry permits are not required to possess a gun.
“The needs and preferences of residents in small, rural counties are not the same as those in larger, more urbanized counties,” Rosenfeld said. “We think the best way forward here is to permit counties to establish firearm regulations that meet their own needs.”
With dozens of people shot over the weekend in the state’s two largest cities, Rosenfeld said it’s time for Missouri voters to make a change. He said the proposed amendment wouldn’t define what local rules could be considered but expects counties to implement regulations like requiring concealed carry permits or age requirements.
“Some counties might be prepared to establish a red flag law that would keep firearms out of the hands of person who have shown that they would use the firearm irresponsibly,” Rosenfeld said. “Some counties may decide to restore a permit requirement of one kind of another.”
Rosenfeld is a criminologist at the University of Missouri St. Louis (UMSL). For 35 years, he has been researching different types of crimes. He retired a few years ago from teaching.
“I don’t view this as a partisan issue by any means,” Rosenfeld said. “I think it combines concern with firearm violent, which we all share, with proposals for regulations that could help diminish firearm violence with the conservative principal that the governor is closer to the people is more responsible to the people’s needs. I see this as crossing traditional political lines.”
Current state law does allow cities to regulate open carrying of firearms, but many are worried about the legal action that could be brought against them if enforced. Rosenfeld said this constitutional amendment would not allow local governments to ban private ownership of guns.
“Which means that counties could not establish firearm regulations that don’t pass Second Amendment procedures and principals and might violate pertinent Supreme Court rulings,” Rosenfeld said. “This is not an attack on anybody’s Second Amendment Rights. It simply means that a county can establish that a person meets lawful criteria for accessing, possessing or carrying a firearm.”
Some Republicans say this will cause confusion among Missourians. Rep. Jim Murphy, a Republican from south St. Louis County said this could lead to liberties being infringed upon.
“Having gun laws in different jurisdictions is problematic, as a patchwork of gun laws could be at best confusing and lead to liberties being infringed upon,” Murphy said in a statement Monday. “I hear the argument that we need new laws, yet the laws that are on the books are not being enforced. When we attempt to strengthen the law for committing a crime with a firearm, we get resistance from the same people asking for restriction on law abiding gun owners.”
Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, R-Arnold, said this type of initiative petition could trample on Second Amendment freedoms.
“The answer to fighting violent crime in areas where crime is most rampant is to support law enforcement and actually prosecute violent crime,” Coleman said in a statement Monday. “It’s been the failure of liberal leadership in the St. Louis area and cities across the countries that have made our communities less safe, and all too often their only suggestion for change is to trample on the Second Amendment freedoms of honest people instead of offering solutions to go after violent criminals.”
Rosenfeld responded by saying, he doesn’t find the constitutional amendment confusing.
“It will be well publicized by counties on billboards, on the sides of buses, wherever a county thinks it ought to publicize whatever firearm regulations it has estbalished,” Rosenfeld said.
Under the federal Youth Handgun Safety Act, anyone under 18 is prohibited from possessing a handgun, but under state law, there are no prohibitions on minors carrying or possessing firearms.
Rosenfeld said the group will have the initiative petition language to the secretary of state’s office by the end of this week. Then, the plan is to start a statewide poll to see if people are interested in the referendum.
“I suspect that some Republicans will be on board with our initiative petition, for the reason that it recognizes and reflects the conservative principal that government closer to the people is more responsible to the people’s needs,” Rosenfeld said.
If approved by the Secretary of State, the attorney general and the auditor, then Rosenfeld and the nonprofit would need more than 171,000 valid signatures from registered voters in Missouri by next May to have the initiative petition on the ballot in November 2024.