Unlawful use of weapons--exceptions--penalties.
571.030. 1. A person commits the crime of unlawful use of weapons if he or she knowingly:
(1) Carries concealed upon or about his or her person a knife, a firearm, a blackjack or any other
weapon readily capable of lethal use; or
(2) Sets a spring gun; or
(3) Discharges or shoots a firearm into a dwelling house, a railroad train, boat, aircraft, or motor
vehicle as defined in section 302.010, RSMo, or any building or structure used for the assembling of
people; or
(4) Exhibits, in the presence of one or more persons, any weapon readily capable of lethal use in an
angry or threatening manner; or
(5) Possesses or discharges a firearm or projectile weapon while intoxicated; or
(6) Discharges a firearm within one hundred yards of any occupied schoolhouse, courthouse, or church
building; or
(7) Discharges or shoots a firearm at a mark, at any object, or at random, on, along or across a public
highway or discharges or shoots a firearm into any outbuilding; or
(8) Carries a firearm or any other weapon readily capable of lethal use into any church or place where
people have assembled for worship, or into any election precinct on any election day, or into any
building owned or occupied by any agency of the federal government, state government, or political
subdivision thereof; or
(9) Discharges or shoots a firearm at or from a motor vehicle, as defined in section 301.010, RSMo,
discharges or shoots a firearm at any person, or at any other motor vehicle, or at any building or
habitable structure, unless the person was lawfully acting in self-defense; or
(10) Carries a firearm, whether loaded or unloaded, or any other weapon readily capable of lethal use
into any school, onto any school bus, or onto the premises of any function or activity sponsored or
sanctioned by school officials or the district school board.
2. Subdivisions (1), (3), (4), (6), (7), (8), (9) and (10) of subsection 1 of this section shall not apply to
or affect any of the following:
(1) All state, county and municipal peace officers who have completed the training required by the
police officer standards and training commission pursuant to sections 590.030 to 590.050, RSMo, and
possessing the duty and power of arrest for violation of the general criminal laws of the state or for
violation of ordinances of counties or municipalities of the state, whether such officers are on or off
duty, and whether such officers are within or outside of the law enforcement agency's jurisdiction, or all
qualified retired peace officers, as defined in subsection 10 of this section, and who carry the
identification defined in subsection 11 of this section, or any person summoned by such officers to
assist in making arrests or preserving the peace while actually engaged in assisting such officer;
(2) Wardens, superintendents and keepers of prisons, penitentiaries, jails and other institutions for the
detention of persons accused or convicted of crime;
(3) Members of the armed forces or national guard while performing their official duty;
(4) Those persons vested by article V, section 1 of the Constitution of Missouri with the judicial power
of the state and those persons vested by Article III of the Constitution of the United States with the
judicial power of the United States, the members of the federal judiciary;
(5) Any person whose bona fide duty is to execute process, civil or criminal;
(6) Any federal probation officer or federal flight deck officer as defined under the federal flight deck
officer program, 49 U.S.C. Section 44921;
(7) Any state probation or parole officer, including supervisors and members of the board of probation
and parole;
(8) Any corporate security advisor meeting the definition and fulfilling the requirements of the
regulations established by the board of police commissioners under section 84.340, RSMo; and
(9) Any coroner, deputy coroner, medical examiner, or assistant medical examiner.
3. Subdivisions (1), (5), (8), and (10) of subsection 1 of this section do not apply when the actor is
transporting such weapons in a nonfunctioning state or in an unloaded state when ammunition is not
readily accessible or when such weapons are not readily accessible. Subdivision (1) of subsection 1 of
this section does not apply to any person twenty-one years of age or older transporting a concealable
firearm in the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle, so long as such concealable firearm is
otherwise lawfully possessed, nor when the actor is also in possession of an exposed firearm or
projectile weapon for the lawful pursuit of game, or is in his or her dwelling unit or upon premises over
which the actor has possession, authority or control, or is traveling in a continuous journey peaceably
through this state. Subdivision (10) of subsection 1 of this section does not apply if the firearm is
otherwise lawfully possessed by a person while traversing school premises for the purposes of
transporting a student to or from school, or possessed by an adult for the purposes of facilitation of a
school-sanctioned firearm-related event.
4. Subdivisions (1), (8), and (10) of subsection 1 of this section shall not apply to any person who has a
valid concealed carry endorsement issued pursuant to sections 571.101 to 571.121 or a valid permit or
endorsement to carry concealed firearms issued by another state or political subdivision of another
state.
5. Subdivisions (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), and (10) of subsection 1 of this section shall not apply to
persons who are engaged in a lawful act of defense pursuant to section 563.031, RSMo.
6. Nothing in this section shall make it unlawful for a student to actually participate in school-
sanctioned gun safety courses, student military or ROTC courses, or other school-sponsored firearm-
related events, provided the student does not carry a firearm or other weapon readily capable of lethal
use into any school, onto any school bus, or onto the premises of any other function or activity
sponsored or sanctioned by school officials or the district school board.
If you are young, and moving to a less than stellar neighborhood in KCMO, I would recommend being discreet with your firearms. You would likely provoke unwanted attention from both the LEO and the local disreputable types.
Read it how you want and tread carefully depending on your age. Also, I have to agree with KCGunfan. In my even-younger days, I too had a shotgun with me for necessary occasions, but dont let people know you have it until its too late for them.
