A new Missouri law now prevents any city or municipality from banning open carry of firearms.
This law is an add-on to Amendment 5, which passed earlier this year defining all Missouri gun laws as “unalienable”.
The new law also lowers the age required to obtain a conceal carry permit from 21 to 19.
Arthur Gordon, an NRA member and instructor of concealed carry classes, agrees with this aspect of the law.
“18 had been strived for at one time,” said Gordon. “But from the people that come to my classes, I think 19 would be about as young as from a personal and safety point of view I would want to go.”
However, NRA member and Election Volunteer Coordinator Steve Hall disagrees. He says if he was able to go to Viet Nam at 18, he should also have been able to carry a gun.
Open carry laws became subject to the new statute after Republicans in the state Senate and House overrode Governor Jay Nixon’s extensive gun control bill.
The law was made in response to the city of Webster Groves passing a law banning open carry in September.
