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Secret Shooters Passes

See rollcall votes on:

• House passage of concealed weapons
• House removal of concealed weapons voter approval requirement
• Senate passage of concealed weapons

JEFFERSON CITY _ The Missouri House took matters into its own hands Tuesday (May 2) passing the concealed weapons bill after stripping it of a provision to put the question to the state's voters.

The move diverted attention in the Capitol from another heavily anticipated piece of crime legislation -- the juvenile crime bill -- which the Senate unanimously approved.

By a narrow margin, the House removed the referendum from the concealed gun bill, paving the way for a likely veto from Gov. Mel Carnahan.

Carnahan has vowed to veto the bill, which with the referendum, would have bypassed the governor's desk.

Rep. Don Lograsso, R-Blue Springs, proposed the amendment to remove the referendum, saying: "It's not our job to weasel out like the governor has been trying to do and send it to a vote of the people."

Besides the governor's pen, the bill also faces another round before members of the Senate, which originally approved the version with the referendum.

As the House was debating the gun bill, the Senate was dealing with the question of what to do with juveniles criminals.

Under the bill passed by the Senate, kids of any age who are accused of violent crimes such as murder, rape or armed robbery, or who are persistent felons, could be tried as adults. Currently, the minimum age for trying any child as an adult is 14.

The bill also would open up the juvenile process, making court proceedings involving children who commit serious felonies open to the public.