Missouri's gun law should allow cities to require permits, St. Louis mayor says

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The mayor of St. Louis said Wednesday she’s asking Missouri lawmakers and the state’s Republican governor to reverse a 2017 law that makes it legal for gun owners without a felony record to carry guns without a permit in the state, according to a report.

Mayor Lyda Krewson, a Democrat, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch she asked Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, to support new legislation that would allow some cities over a certain size — or at least St. Louis --- to require concealed weapons permits. She added that a measure at least partially reversing the 2017 law would benefit the St Louis Police Department and its officers.

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“This is for our police department. Our police don’t have the tools they need to take guns off the street,” Krewson told the newspaper Wednesday. Krewson also brought up the law at a monthly board planning meeting between St. Louis area political leaders earlier this month. After the meeting, she told the Post-Dispatch: “Having a permit to carry a gun is really not a big ask. It’s for our police officers.”

“Having a permit to carry a gun is really not a big ask. It’s for our police officers.”
— St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson

Her remarks Wednesday came a day after Parson rejected a request from the Missouri Legislative Black Caucus to hold an emergency legislative session to address gun violence following a bloody weekend in St. Louis that left three children dead within 48 hours. At least 13 children have been killed in shootings in St. Louis this year as the city grapples a rising homicide rate, the newspaper reported.

Parson, who voted as a state senator to loosen concealed carry requirements, did not address whether or not he’d work with Krewson in reversing the 2017 statute, saying during a Wednesday news conference that he’s leaving that up to legislative branch. He said he would consider allocating resources from the Missouri State Highway Patrol to help combat gun violence in St. Louis.

“I talked to the mayor about this --- we’ve got to find out some solutions to these kids getting shot in the streets of St. Louis, and Kansas City, or wherever it is in the state of Missouri,” Parson said. “We all better put our best game on right now to find a solution to this problem.”

"We’ve got to find out some solutions to these kids getting shot in the streets of St. Louis, and Kansas City, or wherever it is in the state of Missouri."
— Missouri Gov. Mike Parson

The leader of the state's GOP-run Senate addressed St. Louis gun violence Monday but failed to propose a feasible solution to combatting the issue.

“Obviously, anytime we see a rise in this kind of violence it is a problem,” state Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, a Republican, told the Post-Dispatch. “But I don’t know if anything is on the horizon. I don’t know if anyone has the answer.”

Also Wednesday, the St. Louis comptroller slammed Krewson for allegedly delaying the launch of an emergency crime prevention program within the city. The city’s budgets allocated $500,000 to hire an outside organization to run a crime prevention program under a one-year contract.

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“Only after a public outcry did the mayor’s office feel compelled to address the people’s concerns ... another week has passed, and the Comptroller’s Ofc has not received a contract for Cure Violence,” Comptroller Darlene Green wrote on her personal Twitter account.

On Aug. 20, Krewson wrote Comptroller Darlene Green asking her office to bypass the city’s lengthy contract selection process and fast-track a contract for Cure Violence, a Chicago-based non-profit dedicated to crime reduction. Krewson’s office said they submitted a proposed contract to the non-profit for review and are waiting for a response before sending it to the comptroller.