Missouri Pro-Gun Legislation To Be Considered During Veto Override Session

Next week, the Missouri General Assembly will convene for a short two-day override session, in which they will take up Senate Bill 656 as well as House Bill 2002 and House Bill 2008.  Each of these bills addresses the issue of creating a safer school environment, by making Missouri more compliant with the NRA’s School Shield program.

Please contact your state Representative and Senator TODAY and respectfully urge him or her to override Governor Nixon’s veto of SB 656, HB 2002 and HB 2008.

When vetoing SB 656, Governor Nixon made the following statement:

“Arming teachers will not make our schools safer,” Governor Nixon said.  “I have supported and will continue to support the use of duly authorized law enforcement officers employed as school resource officers, but I cannot condone putting firearms in the hands of educators who should be focused on teaching our kids.”

Senate Bill 656 would allow school districts to make a decision on whether or not to designate teachers and administrators as a school protection officer.  In order to be designated, school personnel would be required to take Missouri’s Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) certification to become a Missouri certified police officer.  POST certification for teachers is a higher standard which requires every School Resource Officer to obtain the proper training regardless if they are a current law enforcement officer or not. Again, these programs would not be mandatory.  Each candidate to be designated as a school protection officer must undergo training, which is forty hours or more. Additionally, since 2003 when RTC first passed, local school districts have been allowed to designate anyone with a permit to carry in a school. Just as it was in 2003 and now, the local school districts will again make the decisions to allow trained persons to carry a firearm, not a person who opposes these rights and has their own taxpayer funded security detail.

Senate Bill 656 also includes the following important pro-gun provisions:

• Allows the open carrying of firearms in all localities with a carry permit.  Some localities currently have ordinances that ban open carrying of firearms, even by those with a valid carry permit.

• States that no law shall require health care professionals to inquire about a patient’s ownership or possession of firearms and prohibits the documentation of such information into a database.

• Reduces the age from 21 to 19 for those wishing to apply for a concealed carry permit.

• Allows someone to qualify for a concealed carry permit using a revolver or semi-automatic pistol, rather than having to qualify with each firearm.

• Requires one instructor for every forty people for the classroom portion of a firearms safety training course.  Current law allows only forty people per classroom regardless of the number of instructors present.

• Specifies that no public housing authority shall prohibit a lessee or a member of the lessee’s immediate household or guest from personally possessing firearms within an individual residence, common areas, or from carrying or transporting firearms to and from such residence in a manner allowed by law.

House Bill 2002, a funding related bill, would appropriate a certain amount of funds from the state’s general revenue fund to establish safe schools programs addressing emergency response training, school safety coordinators, school bus safety, crisis management, and other similar school safety measures.

House Bill 2008, a funding bill also related to school security, would appropriate funds For the purpose of purchasing a secure web-based software and content service to provide emergency preparedness plans for all Missouri schools. These plans would be continuously updated and made available to authorized emergency personnel in the local public safety agencies that serve each school.

Don’t let Jay Nixon and his taxpayer funded security detail tell you that you cannot defend yourself or your school district can’t make decisions to keep your children safe!

Please contact your state Representative and Senator TODAY and respectfully urge them to vote to override the veto of SB 656, HB 2002 and HB 2008 next week!

• Contact information for your state Representative can be found here.
• Contact information for your state Senator can be found here.
• To find out who your Representative and Senator is, click here.