Outgoing Missouri Rep. Donna Lichtenegger is a lifelong National Rifle Association member and Second Amendment supporter.
But she said Missouri may have gone too far when lawmakers did away with a requirement that people get a permit to carry a concealed weapon[1].
“After they did constitutional carry — the minute I walked out of the room, I realized what I had done,” said Lichtenegger, R-Jackson. “That’s the worst vote I ever took.”
Lichtenegger can’t run for the Missouri House again because of the state’s term limits, and she said she won’t run for the Senate. But she hopes someone will continue the fight to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers[2], a problem she says arose partially out of constitutional carry.
“Right now, I feel like every day that goes by that something doesn’t happen, we’re very fortunate,” said Rep. Tracy McCreery, D-St. Louis, who sponsored a similar bill.
Asked about gun issues, Star readers said the most important question was what additional restrictions should be placed on gun purchases. The Missouri Influencers, the Star’s panel of dozens of leaders from across Missouri, set out to answer the question. Of the 40 Influencers who responded to a survey, most supported some additional restrictions.
“It is not unreasonable to expect that anyone being allowed to conceal and carry a weapon be trained on how to use it safely and that that individual have no prior criminal convictions or history of domestic abuse,” said Gwen Grant, president and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City.
U.S. residents are 25 times more likely to be killed in a gun homicide than people living in other developed countries.
