Pistol Packing Pupils
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Pistol Packing Pupils

Date: April 16, 2009
By: Elizabeth Billingsley
State Capitol Bureau
Links: HB 668, the roll-call vote.

Intro: On the second anniversary of the Virginia Tech shootings, the Missouri House passed a bill that would allow 21 year olds to carry concealed weapons on college campuses.

RunTime:
OutCue: SOC

By a 2 to 1 margin, the Missouri House voted in favor of the concealed carry measure.

The bill lowers the minimum age to obtain a concealed weapon from 23 to 21 years old and removes the prohibition against carrying concealed weapons at places of higher education.

The debate focused on the issue of making college campuses safer.

In opposing the bill, St. Louis city representative Jeanette Oxford insisted that Missouri needs better community mental health services, not more guns on campus.

Actuality:  OXFORDJ.WAV

Run Time: 00:13

Description: "It calls us to look into each other's eyes as potential enemies and to stand ready to shoot anyone who might hurt us.  It asks us to make our fears central to our lives and sells us a promise of security that is not really there."


Proponents of the bill say it is about extending Second Amendment rights to law-abiding 21 year olds. 

From the State Capitol, I'm Elizabeth Billingsley.
Intro: The Missouri House approved a bill to allow concealed weapons on college campuses.  Elizabeth Billingsley has more...  RunTime:1:52
OutCue: SOC

The Missouri House passed a bill that would allow 21 year olds to obtain concealed carry permits.

Much of the House debate focused on a controversial amendment to the bill that would allow concealed weapons on college campuses.

Proponents of the bill say it extends Second Amendment rights to law-abiding 21 year olds who have undergone training and background checks as part of the permitting process.

Republican Denny Hoskins says prohibiting concealed carry on campuses deters only law-abiding citizens, not criminals.

 

Actuality:  HOSKINS.WAV
Run Time: 00:26
Description: "The murderous perpetrator at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois that went into the college campus and just starting shooting up innocents - do you think that they were worried about getting their conceal and carry license and getting a background check and going through all the proper steps to be properly trained and educated in order to have conceal and carry?  


Critics, like Democrat Margo McNeil, says college students should not have guns on campus.

 

Actuality:  MCNE.WAV
Run Time: 00:24
Description: "College students are not known particularly for following the law.  So an example is their use of alcohol prior to the appropriate age. So the idea that only those people who are qualified to carry a concealed weapon would do so is specious."

Democrat Jason Kander voted against the bill.

He says that the state should not create a universal policy for concealed carry on college campuses.

 

Actuality:  KANDER.WAV
Run Time: 00:06
Description: "I am a believer in local control and I believe that university presidents have a right to make this determination."


Despite opposition, the bill passed the Missouri House on the second anniversary of the Virginia Tech shootings by a 2 to 1 margin.

From the State Capitol, I'm Elizabeth Billingsley.


Intro: Missouri House passes bill allowing 21 year olds to carry concealed weapons on college campuses. RunTime:0:44
OutCue: SOC

On the second anniversary of the Virginia Tech shootings, the Missouri House voted to remove the prohibition against carrying concealed weapons on college campuses.

The bill also lowers the minimum age to obtain a concealed weapon permit from 23 to 21.

Representative Brian Munzlinger sponsored the amendment to allow concealed weapons on college campuses, despite criticisms from several university presidents.

 

Actuality:  MUNZL.WAV
Run Time: 00:11
Description: "I'm a little bit disturbed that some of the campus administrators, they're actually fearing the wrong people. They're fearing law-abiding citizens and not the dangerous criminals of this state."

Critics say the bill ties the hands of university administrators to keep their campuses safe.

From the State Capitol, I'm Elizabeth Billingsley.