CCRKBA urges Missouri Senate to pass CCW; says house vote sent message

BELLEVUE, WA—The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms today called upon the Missouri Senate to override Gov. Bob Holden’s veto of that state’s concealed carry bill, noting that Wednesday’s 115-39 House override vote had “sent the Senate a message.”

“It’s time for the Senate to stand up for the self-defense rights of Missouri citizens,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “The House courageously, and overwhelmingly, has sent a message to both Gov. Holden and their colleagues in the upper chamber that Missouri residents can be trusted with their constitutional right to bear arms.”

“Missouri has an opportunity to join 35 other progressive states that have liberalized right-to-carry statutes,” added CCRKBA Executive Director Joe Waldron. “History has proven that these laws do not result in the kind of Wild West shoot-outs that have been repeatedly predicted by anti-self-defense extremists. More than 30 Democrats joined their Republican colleagues in the House to override the governor’s narrow-minded veto. Senate Democrats should follow their example.”

Both gun rights leaders noted that Missouri residents have been literally left at the mercy of armed violent criminals for many years because they are not allowed to legally carry arms for personal protection. That disadvantage was made graphically clear recently in St. Louis when a rash of carjackings over a recent weekend, and in the defenselessness of several people who were gunned down in a Jefferson City rampage earlier this year.

“The governor’s veto earlier this year told Missourians that they can’t be trusted,” Waldron said. “The House vote uncovered 39 lawmakers who also don’t trust their constituents. Next, we’ll find out how many state senators also don’t trust the people with their self-defense rights, and how many do. We should all remember who stood up for public safety, and who voted to throw citizens to the wolves.”