Not jobs, but, this being the republican controlled Missouri General Assembly, conceal carry.

Introduced yesterday:

HB 778

Allows certain persons to carry concealed firearms in the state capitol building or at a meeting of the general assembly if it is held in the state capitol building if they have a concealed carry endo

Sponsor: Riddle, Jeanie (020)

Co-Sponsor: Parkinson, Mark (016) … et al.

Proposed Effective Date: 8/28/2011

LR Number: 1229L.01I

Last Action: 3/08/2011 – Read Second Time (H)

Bill String: HB 778

Next Hearing: Hearing not scheduled

Calendar: HOUSE BILLS FOR SECOND READING

“Certain persons?” Who could that be?

The bill:

FIRST REGULAR SESSION

HOUSE BILL NO. 778

96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVES RIDDLE (Sponsor), PARKINSON, JONES (89), SCHOELLER, ALLEN, KEENEY, SMITH (150), SILVEY, TILLEY, ENTLICHER, RICHARDSON, WALLINGFORD, KORMAN, LEARA, BROWN (116), HIGDON, HOUGHTON, SCHATZ, PHILLIPS, GRISAMORE, LAIR, FISHER, LOEHNER, SCHAD, ROWLAND, SHUMAKE, CAUTHORN, FUNDERBURK, HINSON, HAMPTON, CROSS, CRAWFORD, BRATTIN, DAVIS, WHITE, FREDERICK, McCAHERTY, BERRY, BARNES, LANT, REIBOLDT, FUHR, BROWN (85), FITZWATER, LEACH, COOKSON, FRAKER, BAHR, WYATT, HAEFNER, MARSHALL, CONWAY (14), GUERNSEY, ASBURY, LARGENT, MOLENDORP, COX, BERNSKOETTER, REDMON, KLIPPENSTEIN, ZERR AND FRANZ (Co-sponsors).

1229L.01I                                                                                                           D. ADAM CRUMBLISS, Chief Clerk

AN ACT

To repeal section 571.107, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to carrying concealed firearms in the state capitol building, with existing penalty provisions.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:

           Section A. Section 571.107, RSMo, is repealed and one new section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 571.107, to read as follows:

[….]

(5) Any meeting of the governing body of a unit of local government; or any meeting of the general assembly or a committee of the general assembly, except that nothing in this subdivision shall preclude a member of the body holding a valid concealed carry endorsement from carrying a concealed firearm at a meeting of the body which he or she is a member. Possession of a firearm in a vehicle on the premises shall not be a criminal offense so long as the firearm is not removed from the vehicle or brandished while the vehicle is on the premises. Nothing in this subdivision shall preclude a member of the general assembly, a full-time employee of the general assembly employed under section 17, article III, Constitution of Missouri, legislative employees of the general assembly as determined under section 21.155, or statewide elected officials and their employees, holding a valid concealed carry endorsement, from carrying a concealed firearm in the state capitol building or at a meeting whether of the full body of a house of the general assembly or a committee thereof, that is held in the state capitol building;

[….]

[emphasis in original]

Heh. Except, members of the general public who hold valid conceal carry permits wouldn’t be able to carry in the galleries of the House or the Senate. That’s quite an exception, don’t you think? Wouldn’t letting those in the general public with valid conceal carry permits actually carry in the galleries and everywhere else in the capitol make everyone safer? Just asking.

And, there’s a very interesting absence among the co-sponsors of the bill:

Representative Denny Hoskins (r) – Town Halls: campus conceal carry (June 21, 2009)

[….]

Question:  So, are you going to allow people in the gallery in the House have con… guns? ‘Cause they can’t now. I’ve looked at the legislation, sir. They cannot now.

Representative [Denny] Hoskins: I, I wouldn’t be against that.

Question:Why don’t you introduce that as your legislation then? So that your colleagues could, people in the gallery can have guns in case somebody enters.

Representative Hoskins:  Well, and, and they currently, uh, they can have them out in the hallways. It’s just that they can’t have them in any, uh, I think…[crosstalk]

Question: Well you’re worried about the Kirkwood case, though?

Representative Hoskins: Right.

Question: Don’t you think you ought to have armed citizens sitting above you as you debate, uh, legislation on the floor of  [crosstalk] the General Assembly?

Representative Hoskins: If they’re, uh, properly trained and law abiding [crosstalk] citizens.

Question: Then intro…, why don’t you introduce that, too? The next time you want to make me safe, why don’t you make yourself safe and introduce the same thing? End the, the restriction in the House for conceal and carry?

Representative Hoskins: …but…[crosstalk]

Question: If Kirkwood is, is your, if…[crosstalk]

Representative Hoskins:  I, I didn’t introduce the legislation, so…[crosstalk]

Question: Yeah, but you’re my representative.

Representative Hoskins: I know.

Question: You voted to, to have guns where I work. You understand why I’m concerned about this?

Third person in audience: Are you concerned when you go to Wal-mart? Because people go to Wal-mart. Are you concerned when you walk down the street? Because people walk down the street with guns all the time. [crosstalk]

Question: Sir, I drove a taxicab in the City of Chicago for five years.

Third person in audience: Profess…[crosstalk]

Question: You bet. And no gun was gonna keep me safe. And when I finally had one pointed at the back of my head, had I pulled one out, he’d of got me before I got him…[crosstalk]

Third person in audience: [garbled]…they don’t have that in Illinois…[crosstalk]

Question: What? He’d of killed me before.

Third person in audience: Illinois doesn’t have a conceal carry permit.

Representative Hoskins: Sir, where, where do you think that, uh, guns should be allowed?

Question: Ooh, I, lord knows, having hit a deer, we gotta have, we gotta kill deer in this state. Oh, I love hunters. Please kill deer. Please kill the deer. But I don’t, you think I need a gun in here in this library right now? You think I, I, I feel unsafe? Do you feel unsafe? Because nobody has a gun?

Representative Hoskins: [inaudible] All right. Thank you….

[underline emphasis added]

“…I, I wouldn’t be against that…”

That must be the reason he didn’t sign on to the bill, right?