As conservatives we are all justly or rightly concerned about the erosion of so many of our personal freedoms. But one bright spot recently has been an increased awareness of our rights under the Second Amendment. The Supreme Court recognized, finally, that the Second Amendment does indeed protect the individual citizen's right to keep and bear arms. We have seen a tremendous expansion in the number of states permitting citizens to lawfully carry concealed weapons. These are good trends, but we can do better, and we must not grow complacent.
Despite these recent positive trends, no serious person can fail to recognize that we have in Washington the most hostile to gun rights administration in American history. The antics and agenda behind such stunts as "fast and furious" should rightly alarm all citizens who value the Second Amendment. I fear that much of the recent progress in terms of gun rights could be lost in Missouri if Obama and his lapdog, Jay Nixon, are elected to second terms.
Those who question whether a lawfully armed citizenry deters crime seem to ignore the facts and basic human nature. Bullies prey on the weak and avoid the strong. If deterrence could keep the peace between the USSR and USA for more than forty years, it should certainly serve well in our neighborhoods. The less inviting target usually gets left along.
The threats to the Second Amendment throughout our history have been based on a false premise. If we restrict guns, the argument goes, everyone will be safer and violence will go down. Well-intentioned folks even on the Republican side have even fallen for this argument. After President Reagan was shot, and his press secretary severely injured, the gun control movement got a tremendous burst of energy in this country. Some of those are well-intentioned folks, but their position makes little sense. I remember when I was a kid seeing bumper stickers that read "If we outlaw guns then only outlaws will have guns." To me the irrefutability of that logic remains at the core of this discussion.
Anyone who has seriously researched the question can find numerous examples of citizens who would not be alive today had they not used handguns to protect themselves from violent criminals. But we don't have to debate the wisdom of one public policy over another in a vacuum. Our founders weighed these issues and decided that one of the best guarantees of a free citizenry against all kinds of threats is the right to keep and bear arms. So, both the supreme law of the land, the Constitution, empirical evidence, and common sense establish the importance of protecting and encouraging gun ownership by law-abiding citizens.
Expanding Missouri's Conceal Carry Law
My administration will press to make conceal carry rights more accessible to Missouri citizens. The current requirement of an eight hour class means that citizens have to spend a significant amount of money just to attend the first class. My class was $125.00; some are more; some are less. I believe a well planned four hour class would be sufficient to cover all the necessary subjects and would of course be more affordable. The fee at the sheriff's office is $100.00 - which I assume is a reasonable reflection of their costs in doing the paperwork and the background check. But I think an honest discussion with the Sheriff's Association as to whether we could knock $25.00 or $50.00 off of that cost would be productive. So, adding in the $5.50 cost at the licensing bureau, an average Missouri citizen currently has to spend somewhere around $230.00 to simply satisfy the requirements of the statute. I think reducing those costs by a third to a half would make a CCW permit more accessible to the average, hardworking citizen.
Additionally, the recent requirement in the law that students must demonstrate proficiency in shooting both revolvers and semi-automatics makes little sense. Why should a student be required to use a type of gun in the class that they neither own nor will choose to use for their personal protection. We do not require drivers to show up to drivers tests with cars having both automatic transmissions and stick shifts. The recent requirement in the statute raising the number of rounds that must be fired to 100 apart from the actually target qualifying round should also be eliminated. So, we should have a less expensive process, a four hour class, and a student should only be required to shoot one type of weapon and show proficiency with 20 rounds through that weapon. I also support the notion of extending the period for which a concealed carry permit is valid from six years to ten years.
I believe Missouri should be the state most friendly to and protective of Second Amendment rights. As a country boy who grew up shooting guns of various types for entertainment for my entire childhood and teenage years, I believe it is an important right and wholesome activity. Like millions of Missourians, I enjoy owning guns for recreation and self-defense. That was the view of gun rights held by our founders and a view I will vigorously protect in this state.
