St. Louis balks on concealed-carry permits

New York Statesman Friday 25th March, 2005

Legislation pending in the Missouri Legislature would force St. Louis to start issuing concealed-carry handgun permits.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says that the city and St. Louis County have refused to issue the permits on the grounds that the law is an unfunded mandate. The concealed-carry law barred local agencies from using the sheriff's revolving fund to conduct the required background checks.

The proposed legislation would allow that use.

The newspaper says that 16,000 permits have been issued across the state since the law was passed.

Changing the law may not make much of a difference in St. Louis. Several thousand city residents are believed to have obtained permits in other states like Florida and Utah, which are honored in Missouri.

Those who wanted a permit probably already have one, Jim Stephens, owner of a shooting range, told the newspaper.