Missouri's veto session began on Wednesday, September 14.  By the end of the day, 13 of Governor Nixon's 20 vetoes had been overridden.  I'll address the impact of other bills in future posts, but the bill getting all the attention is that which allows concealed carry without a permit and expands the so-called stand your ground law.  This is the bill that lead KC Mayor Sly James to fear that the legislature would "double down on stupid."  As Mayor James said earlier today (Thursday the 15th), this result was not surprising.  The Kansas City Star had made an overly optimistic pitch about how the veto might not be overridden now that some Republicans had begun to express concerns over citizens carrying weapons without a permit and without the benefit of training classes.  That was never a realistic possibility as this was always going to be a party line vote.  The NRA was heavily supportive of this bill that makes Missouri the 10th state where concealed carry is permissible without a permit.  The law takes effect January 1, 2017.

Tim West
MO Legislative Monitor
LAKC Board of Directors