Missouri gun users go out of state for CHPs

Kansas City Star (Sept. 6)

When Jackson County refused to issue concealed-weapons permits this summer, Peter Blake-Ward saw an opportunity he couldn't pass up.

Since June, the Arizona gun instructor has come to Kansas City twice, teaching a $100 weekend course that can get all of his 50 students ? even those from Jackson County ? concealed-weapons permits.

The catch: The permits are from Utah.

For years, gun owners have gotten such out-of-state permits, which allow them to carry concealed weapons in other states while traveling or doing business.

But now, hundreds are using those permits to circumvent Missouri county sheriffs' offices that are not yet issuing their own. Because residents of one county cannot get licenses from another county, they get the next-best thing: a license from out of state, legally recognized in Missouri.

Linda Davis is one such Jackson County resident. Davis, who lives in the inner city but said she grew up around guns in the country, took Blake-Ward's class in late August.

Davis said that 10 years ago she didn't fear catching the bus to come home from work after dark. But lately, she said, ?these criminals have gotten a little bolder.?

?A woman out alone, she wants to be safe,? said Davis, who never thought she would own a gun, let alone have a concealed-weapons permit.

Now that she wants one, Davis said she hasn't appreciated the tack Jackson County has taken.

?I want to do it the right way,? she said. ?So why are you punishing me? Because I'm a chump who doesn't want to go to jail.?

Although the Missouri Supreme Court in February upheld the concealed-weapons law, it deemed the law created an unconstitutional ?unfunded mandate.?

When the state legislature recessed in May without fixing the problem, sheriffs were left to decide whether they wanted to wait or go ahead and process permits.

?It's a tough one because it's a Catch-22,? said Jim Vermeersch, executive director of the Missouri Sheriffs' Association. Facing potential lawsuits from both pro- and anti-gun groups, sheriffs didn't know what to do, he said.

But one by one, they started to issue permits, with Clay and Platte counties joining the majority in July. Now, only the city of St. Louis and four counties ? including Jackson ? still won't issue permits until the law is clarified.

In the meantime, hundreds of Jackson County gun owners have joined the nearly 1,300 Missourians with permits or pending applications in Florida and the 2,500 with Pennsylvania permits.

By comparison, 11,469 have applied for permits from Missouri.

As of early August, a little more than 300 Jackson County residents held Florida permits or had applications pending. The total was roughly 125 in Clay, Platte and Cass counties. Utah does not track permits issued to Missouri residents.

?We're not looking to subvert the Missouri statute,? Blake-Ward said. ?But the people in the counties where they are not issuing feel frustrated.?

People like Derek A. Ward, a Jackson County resident who is vice president of the Western Missouri Shooters Alliance.

Ward has been shooting since he was a Boy Scout and said he carries a gun for the same reason other people carry car insurance.

?Having it and not needing it is a lot better than needing it and not having it,? he said.

Ward has nonresident permits from Florida and Pennsylvania, which allow him to carry his Glock 27 with him everywhere in Missouri, even though he doesn't have a state license.

?Jackson County's failure to issue these permits will not stop a single person from getting a concealed weapon,? Ward said.

It hasn't stopped the dozens rushing to Sugar Creek authorities to have their fingerprints taken ? a requirement for Florida mail-in permits.

Sugar Creek Police Chief Herb Soule said that since March he has seen an average of half a dozen Jackson County gun owners a day come in to get their prints taken for the Florida permits.

Soule said he supports issuing permits, which would bring revenue to the county and some oversight for local departments.

But more than that, Soule said he believes Jackson County residents should have the same rights as other Missouri citizens and other Americans.

?Forty-seven states in this country have some form of concealed-carry, and the sky hasn't fallen? there, he said.

But Jackson County officials say the reason they are not issuing permits has to do with money, not morals.

?We have the will. We just don't have the way right now,? Jackson County Sheriff's Capt. Phil Moran said.

Moran said it would cost the county up to $150,000 to hire the employees needed to process the several thousand applications he is expecting. Under the law, departments are allowed to charge fees only for equipment and training, not for staff or processing.

But the burden on Moran's department may be diminishing by the day, Ward said.

?The longer it takes Jackson County to issue, the smaller those numbers (of applicants) are going to be,? he said.

Ward won't be one of them. Though he planned to get a Missouri permit as soon as he could, the delays have left a bad taste in his mouth. Ward said he doesn't see himself shelling out more money now that he has nearly $200 invested in his other permits.

Moran did not say how much Jackson County would charge for permits, though the law allows each county to charge up to $100.

Florida charges $117 and Pennsylvania charged only $20 before March, when it stopped issuing permits to Missouri residents without in-state permits.

It isn't just costs that vary from state to state, however. It is also training requirements.

While Missouri requires an eight-hour gun-safety course, people seeking Utah permits need only a three-hour class with no range time. Pennsylvania had no course requirements.

That inconsistency can translate into problems for law enforcement officials, Vermeersch said.

?Consistency is what you need. You need to have everybody marching to the same tune,? he said.

Blake-Ward agrees, but he said that most of his students have prior firearms instruction and only are taking his class for the license requirement.

Blake-Ward still sees a market in Missouri, and he will be back in October for another round of courses.

?I've gotten a very positive response,? he said. ?I'm very happy to do it.?
  ¶ 4:50 PM