BELLEVUE, WA – If Missouri had allowed its citizens to legally carry concealed firearms for personal protection, last night’s shooting rampage in Jefferson City might have been stopped, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) said today.
“Gov. Bob Holden should stop stalling and sign Missouri’s concealed carry legislation today, in order to prevent similar rampages tomorrow,” said CCRKBA Executive Director Joe Waldron. “Missouri citizens deserve the same self-defense rights that citizens in over 40 other states now enjoy. For him to turn his back on this important legislation, and the citizens he serves, is nothing short of dereliction of duty.”
A disgruntled employee shot and killed three of his co-workers and wounded four others at a Jefferson City manufacturing facility Tuesday night, according to the Associated Press. The gunman then drove a short distance and reportedly killed himself.
“I cannot think of a more graphic reason why licensed concealed carry should become law in Missouri than this horrible incident,” Waldron stated. “If Gov. Holden uses this as an excuse to veto the measure, then he will have to explain just how it is that the shooting occurred in the first place.
“The gunman defied current state law, not only against carrying a gun illegally, but also the law against homicide,” Waldron stressed. “How would leaving Missouri’s law-abiding citizens disarmed and at the mercy of such madmen prevent such crimes from occurring in the future? What about that, Gov. Holden? Are you going to continue to deprive Missouri citizens of the ability to defend themselves?
“Anti-gunners would continue punishing Missouri’s law-abiding citizens for the crimes of lunatics,” Waldron added. “This is the kind of illogical, hysterical reaction one might expect from gun control fanatics, but it should not be the response from the state’s chief executive.
“Gov. Holden should join with his fellow Democrat governors in New Mexico, Arizona, Oklahoma, North Carolina and Tennessee-all of whom have signed legislation this year establishing or expanding the right of law-abiding citizens to carry arms for protection of themselves or others-and sign this common sense citizen self defense measure,” Waldron said.