Missouri - Concealed Carry Update

Recently, in the case of Brooks v. Missouri, the Missouri Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of Missouri’s concealed carry statute against a direct challenge that the statute violated Art. I, Sec. 23 of Missouri’s constitution. The court specifically held that there is no constitutional prohibition against the wearing of concealed weapons. The court also stated that the General Assembly, which has the power to enact legislation on any subject in the absence of a constitutional prohibition, has the final say in the use and regulation of concealed weapons.

With respect to an additional constitutional challenge (one brought under Missouri’s Hancock Amendment and which the trial court had considered unpersuasive and rejected out of hand), the Missouri Supreme Court enjoined the State from requiring four Missouri counties to process permit applications under the statute, because of a restriction in the statute that limited how sheriffs could use application fees.

However, the Court’s ruling did not prohibit any county from voluntarily accepting and processing applications, and the vast majority of sheriffs have begun processing and issuing permits. The decision did not completely foreclose lawsuits by opponents of concealed carry, and two other lawsuits have been filed against counties who have begun issuing concealed carry licenses for alleged violations of the Hancock Amendment.

The NRA is supporting State Representative Larry Crawford in the case of Barry v. Missouri, involving a challenge of the validity of the Concealed-Carry Act under the Hancock Amendment. The NRA is also monitoring activities in the case of St. Louis County v Missouri.

110 of 115 jurisdictions are now issuing Concealed Carry Permits. Click here for an up-to-date map of those counties. For information on where to go to get your permit, click here.

Here at the NRA we appreciate that many people will be concerned with the issues involving the concealed carry law. We encourage you to contact the NRA and inform us of any difficulties you have encountered while trying to obtain a concealed carry license. We ask that you limit information submitted to us to only personal, specific examples of having difficulty. Please click here for a form you can use to report your problem. Please put "Missouri concealed carry license" at the top of your comments.