Hindsight from The New Gun Week February 20, 1999
Grassroots Sets Sights on Missouri CCW Victory on April 6th
by Joseph P. Tartaro
Executive Editor
The struggle for the right to carry in Missouri has been a long and arduous effort. In just a few weeks, it may be decided once and for all as voters go to the polls on April 6 for a special statewide referendum on concealed carry.
The fight started years ago as grassroots organizations across the "Show Me" state went repeatedly, and often successfully, to the state legislature, only to have victory snatched away by a governor and his anti-gun allies.
In 1998, the legislature set the stage for a final showdown, one that could have enormous impact not just in Missouri but all across the country. For the first time anywhere, the Missouri legislators decided to put the question before the voters in a popular referendum.
The lawmakers wrote the language for the ballot question:
"Shall state and local law enforcement agencies be authorized to issue permits to law-abiding citizens at least 21 years of age to carry concealed firearms outside their home for personal protection after having passed a state and federal criminal background check and having completed a firearms safety training course approved by the Missouri Department of Public Safety?"
Sounds simple and straightforward enough. Some people in Missouri might have preferred a "Vermont-style" carry law, because they believe that law-abiding citizens should have the means to self-defense, without having to prove their innocence or competence.
But that's not reality. Missouri is one of a handful of states that have no statewide concealed carry law of any kind, shall-issue or discretionary. And the powers that be had blocked every effort in the legislature to enact a shall-issue law that required background checks and training.
The referendum route seemed the answer, and people organized for the showdown vote on April 6. A simple "Yes" vote by a majority of Missourians was all that was needed.
Then a handful of anti-gun folks figured they could still torpedo the referendum. A suit was filed, based on existing Missouri law governing the procedures for formalizing the language of statewide referendums. The plaintiffs-former Highway Patrol Superintendent Fred Mills, Sister Mary Jean Ryan, president of SSM Health Systems in St. Louis County, and Chuck Keithley, a former Taney County sheriff-claimed that the state legislature did not have authority to draft the wording for the ballot question.
Grassroots Referendum Volunteer Seminars are scheduled for Kansas City, Feb. 27 and St. Louis, Feb. 28
Just a few weeks ago, Cole County Circuit Court Judge Byron Kinder ruled that the ballot description written by the legislature did not conform to the law and ordered the secretary of state, state attorney general and state auditor to redraft the language according to the statutory procedure.
That language has now been drafted, and while neither side is entirely happy with it, the issue is not yet out of the courts. As I write this on Feb. 9, the plaintiffs have now challenged the economic impact statement drafted by the proper state officials. There could still be further changes to what is actually on the ballot. Unless they reverse the question entirely, the people of Missouri who still want the right to carry, must simply vote "Yes."
The anti-gunners are not likely to give up with the court fights. While they have not yet spent any significant money on campaign advertising, most pro-gunners in Missouri expect the other shoe to drop as it gets closer and closer to this crucial showdown vote.
Both sides have found police and other prominent spokesmen to speak for and against the right to carry, but victory in such a statewide campaign is to be found in the trenches, at the grassroots level, as it was on Initiative 676 in Washington state in 1997.
Recent polling indicates that the side that turns out its voters will win. Grassroots pro-gun organizations are now working to do just that. Seven referendum volunteer seminars have already been held in eastern, central and western Missouri cities under the auspices of the NRA-ILA Grassroots Division and Missourians Against Crime (MAC), the lead group campaigning in support of the Missouri CCW referendum.
Now, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) has scheduled two free Referendum Volunteer Seminars (RVS). The first will be held Saturday, Feb. 27 at the Kansas City Airport Hilton (8801 NW 112th St.) from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The second will be held Sunday, Feb. 28 at the Renaissance St. Louis Airport Hotel (9801 Natural Bridge Road) from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
A limited number of rooms are available at reduced rate for seminar attendees at both host hotels. Phone the Kansas City Airport Hilton ($79 per night) at 816-891-8900; or the Renaissance St. Louis Airport Hotel ($89 per night) at 314-429-1100.
The side that turns out the votes on the Missouri
right-to-carry referendum is the side that will win.
The grassroots seminars will provide an overview and status report on the campaign for passage of right to carry. How to build effective coalitions and grassroots support will also be discussed, as will networking with law enforcement and other influential segments of the community. Media relations strategies for grassroots volunteers will also be explained.
Speakers at the Referendum Volunteer Seminars will include many of the leaders of the successful I-676 campaign in Washington state. Alan M. Gottlieb, chairman of CCRKBA and treasurer of the pro-gun campaign on I-676 will be one of the key speakers at both seminars. So will Joe Waldron, chairman of Washington Citizens Against Regulatory Reform (WeCARE) and executive director of CCRKBA. I will also be one of the speakers, and we expect Fred Myers, chairman of Missourians Against Crime, as well as representatives of law enforcement, and leaders of the various Missouri pro-gun organizations who have been campaigning for the right to carry for so many years.
Distribution of pro-CCW campaign materials will take place at the Referendum Volunteer Seminars. Attendees will be able to pick up quantities of door hangers, palm cards, yard signs, bumper stickers and brochures which explain the right-to-carry referendum.
While admission to the seminars, seminar materials and refreshments are free, pre-registration for the Referendum Volunteer Seminars is recommended to insure that adequate room is reserved for attendees. Grassroots activists can pre-register by mail, phone or fax through the CCRKBA, 12500 NE Tenth Place, Bellevue, WA 98005. Phone: 425-454-4911; Fax: 425-451-3959. Register by email to: info@saf.org
Pro-gun forces won a major victory when they turned back the anti-gunners with a unified effort in Washington state in 1997. Pro-gun forces also won key victories in Wisconsin (right to bear arms addition to state constitution) and Minnesota (right to hunt addition to state constitution) in 1998.
This year, Missourians are poised to make an even bigger statement when they turn out to approve the right to carry referendum on April 6. All Americans will be watching.
Click Here for the Missouri Concealed Carry
Initiative Homepage
The New Gun Week is published three times a month by the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) on the 1st, 10th, and 20th. Hindsight is a commentary written by SAF President and Gun Week Executive Editor Joseph P. Tartaro. This commentary may be reprinted so long as credit is given to the author and the publication. For more information or to subscribe, write Gun Week, PO Box 488, Buffalo, NY 14209, or call 716-885-6408 Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST, or inquire on Compuserve to John Krull, Production manager-JohnSAF@Compuserve.com or gunweeksaf@broadviewnet.net
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