ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI (KMOX) - A St. Louis Alderwoman has stumbled upon a plan to curb the increasing - and some say disturbing - images of young people openly carrying assault-style weapons downtown. Alderwoman Cara Spencer, who represents parts of downtown, is introducing Board Bill 22 on Friday to take advantage of a state law passed in 2014. Missouri lawmakers did not want cities to undermine state gun laws like Chicago did in Illinois. However, Spencer says a provision in the law allows cities to restrict open carry to only those with valid Concealed Carry Permits.
Spencer says Kansas City implemented their own open carry restriction shortly after the state law, but hasn't enforced it because open carry has not been an issue there. Scenes of young people, often just children, carrying AR-15 rifles as they walk downtown has prompted alarm, but with police saying there's nothing they can do about it.
"A jurisdiction can prohibit the open carrying of firearms, except for those who have and are willing to display a concealed carry permit." Said Spencer of the state law. "We have to do something to get the guns off the streets of our city. Doing nothing is not an option." She adds, "What is happening is not normal, and it is not safe."
If passed into an ordinance, Spencer says police would be allowed to ask someone showing a weapon if they have a Conceal Carry permit. If they don't, she wants the officer to "get the gun off the streets." Whether that would mean temporary confiscation or some other intervention is not yet figured out. She wants community input as Board Bill 22 moves forward, understanding concerns such as racial profiling must be addressed.
Since state law requires someone to be at least 19-years-old to apply for the CCW permit, minors could not carry guns (It's 18 for active military). Those who are convicted felons also cannot get the permits. It's Spencer's belief that eliminating those categories of people from openly carrying guns would take care of most of the instances she calls frightening and upsetting to residents and visitors to St. Louis.
As for whether Spencer believes her bill will pass, she says there are already other members of the Board of Aldermen who say they want to be co-sponsors of the legislation.
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