Missouri's concealed-weapon law apparently on target, law officials say
Greene County is second in the state with 483 requests, with just 2 denied.

Gun applications 
These areas have had the most applications for concealed-carry permits since the law went into effect, according to the Missouri Highway Patrol:

St. Charles County: 549

Greene County: 483

Jefferson County: 470

Franklin County: 270

Hallsville (city): 229

Polk County: 207

Camden County: 187

Cape Girardeau County: 170

Butler County: 164

Cole County: 162

 
By Wes Johnson
News-Leader

Missouri's new concealed-carry law appears to be working fairly smoothly, according to law enforcement officials who are implementing it.
"We've not had any problems here, although the background checks are a little slow getting back," said Tom Martin, chief deputy with the Greene County Sheriff's Department. "Still, we're getting out state checks back in time, within 45 days."

Greene County has had the second-highest number of concealed-carry applications in the state — 483 — according to the Missouri Highway Patrol, which does all concealed-carry background checks. Only St. Charles County, which is in the St. Louis area, had more — 549.

Statewide, the patrol has received 6,778 background-check requests as of Monday.

Of the 483 applications so far in Greene County, only two have been denied, Martin said. However, he couldn't recall the specific reason for their denial.

He said 205 applicants in Greene County had completed the process and received temporary permits.

In June, the Missouri Department of Revenue will begin issuing new driver's licenses with concealed-carry designations on them for those who have successfully applied.

People can also apply for a nondriver state photo ID card that can have a concealed-carry designation on it.

The background checks seem to be working.

In Lawrence County, an Aurora man who applied for a concealed-carry permit on April 14 faces a fine and possible jail time for allegedly not revealing a prior assault conviction on his application.

"This is our first case involving a false declaration on a concealed-carry permit," said Lawrence County Prosecutor Robert E. George. "Anyone who is signing a document under penalty of a false declaration should make certain all the information they are attesting to as true has been properly reported."

If convicted, Garland W. Wade, 43, faces a fine of up to $500, up to 180 days in jail, or a combination of both.

Lawrence County Sheriff Doug Seneker said the problem arose when Wade's fingerprint background check came back showing a prior conviction.

Aside from that one, Seneker said the applications have been going smoothly.

"We've had a total of 70 applications so far," Seneker said. "We're still getting some but not like before. There was a big push originally after it became legal."

"Most of our applicants are sportsmen or gun enthusiasts or gun collectors," Seneker said.

"I've heard several times that people are pleased with the training they've received."

The state and most counties don't compute the average age of applicants, but some counties reviewed age information on their own or at the request of The Kansas City Star.

Greene County had the most complete information. Of its 442 applicants through mid-May, 55 percent were 50 or older, according to data compiled by the Regional Justice Information Service in St. Louis.

There were 107 applicants 60 and over, compared with 86 in their 20s or 30s. Applicants in their 50s numbered 135, those in their 30s, 114.

Franklin County, west of St. Louis, had only five applicants in their 20s as of early May, while 124 were 50 or older and 10 were in their 70s.

In Pettis County, east of Kansas City, the sheriff's department said about a quarter of its applicants were over 60.

Information for 2002 from the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics shows that people 65 and older were in the age group least likely to be victimized by violent crime.

But John Stein, deputy director of the National Organization for Victim Assistance, said seniors are more likely to be injured if they are attacked.

"They are probably overstating the risk in their own mind in terms of being a target of a criminal, but not overstating the dangers that a crime would bring to them," he said.

Jim Vermeersch, executive director of the Missouri Sheriffs Association, said some issues about concealed-carry law remain unresolved.

He said the legislature never fixed a funding problem that prevents counties from collecting all the costs of issuing concealed-carry permits.

The concealed-carry law lets counties recoup the cost of equipment needed to process the applications, but not the staff hours.

"The legislature had the opportunity to fix that, but they didn't," he said.

Vermeersch said he's getting a lot of calls from other states and from Missourians about reciprocity of concealed-carry permits.

Missouri law now recognizes any concealed-carry permit issued by other states.

Other states might not do the same for Missouri, he said.

"It depends on how strict the laws are in each state," he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

• Leading areas for concealed-carry applications. 6A