Open Carry in Bolivar

I attempted to reach the city clerk, but she was out today and the person that I reached said that I would have to call back Monday. I know that the law used to be that open carry was legal for ccw holders, but don't know if this has changed. Anyone know?

Matt, you open carried there before if I recall correctly? Is that true?

That's what Matt had told me following his encounter.

However, that is the municipality attempting to regulate OC and/through CCW, which they cannot do because of the preemption clause. I have not found anything in writing yet on this issue in Bolivar, I am looking though. This is a way of the City of Bolivar saying "you have no 2A rights unless you obtain a CCW permit." It's a violation of the Constitution and Missouri statute. Seems several of us need to investigate this further and refer a complaint to the MOAG's Office if need be.

What preemption clause? I was unaware that MO had statewide OC...

Bolivar does allow open carry of a firearm provided you have a concealed carry permit. (verified 9.13.2010 by the Polk county sheriffs office)
I don't agree with it, in fact I don't agree with any regulation on open carry. If you can own a handgun, you can carry it.

I disagree that this is regulating ccw in anyway though. I wish I could find a way that it did, so that it could be changed. Requiring an open carrier to have a ccw doesn't regulate ccw in any fashion that I can find in the statutes.

I do agree that it removes the 2A rights from a citizen if they do not have a ccw. But then any city that bans open carry period does the same. Per RSMo 21.750, they can and do. Bolivar does at least allow for open carry under a set of conditions. Some Missouri cities do not allow for it at all.

Would most of us agree that it violates the U.S. Constitution, and the Missouri Constitution? I would think a resounding yes. But they do, and 21.750 needs to be changed.

HYRYSC said:

What preemption clause? I was unaware that MO had statewide OC...

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Check missouricarry, it was on several threads there and I think the preemption clause applied to the CCW and Castle Doctrine statutes. Which is why there's an issue with them saying OC is only allowed if you have CCW as that's an attempt to regulate CCW by the municipality and is not legal. Regulating it does not have to be a negative thing, all it needs to be is an entity attempting to add or take away from the current law to suit their own political needs, which is exactly what that City ordinance does. It clearly communicates that you have the right to keep arms, but may not bear them unless you have a CCW permit. So I could see where someone might say they're not regulating it, but they actually are.

Thanks for that data Shooter. Any chance there's a resource online to locate it in writing?

Most ordinances can be found here.

http://codes.sullivanpublications.com/codes-slp/

In Bolivar, the latest law that is posted shows that OC is illegal unless the OC'er also holds a CCW permit. I have not verified that this is any different since the latest code updates at the end of August however.

heresyourdipstickjimmy said:

Check missouricarry, it was on several threads there and I think the preemption clause applied to the CCW and Castle Doctrine statutes. Which is why there's an issue with them saying OC is only allowed if you have CCW as that's an attempt to regulate CCW by the municipality and is not legal. Regulating it does not have to be a negative thing, all it needs to be is an entity attempting to add or take away from the current law to suit their own political needs, which is exactly what that City ordinance does. It clearly communicates that you have the right to keep arms, but may not bear them unless you have a CCW permit. So I could see where someone might say they're not regulating it, but they actually are.

Thanks for that data Shooter. Any chance there's a resource online to locate it in writing?

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I do not know what the ordinance actually says. Keep in mind, this could all be an 'interpretation' by a deputy, or the sheriff of the ordinance. It may actually say something different. The Polk County sheriff is a decent pro-gun person, and his staff have always been professional and courteous. If you call their office I bet they can look up, or email you the specific ordinance in question. I don't have their number handy and I'm on the road right now, on my way to the picnic. When I get settled in the hotel, I'll see what contact info I have.