How have Missouri’s gun laws changed over the past 25 years? Here’s a timeline.
Missouri gun laws have changed in the last 25 years, and they are at the forefront following a mass shooting at the Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory parade at Union Station Wednesday.
The gunfire, which broke out near the end of the citywide celebration amid thousands of fans, sent nine children to the hospital with bullet wounds. The number of victims in the shooting rose to 23, police said Thursday morning. One of the victims was a Johnson County mother of two and beloved disc jockey who died.
At this point in time, Missourians can purchase a gun without a permit, carry concealed firearms in most places without a permit and claim immunity in armed confrontations. Minors are also allowed to carry guns on public land without supervision.
But, the state used to require permits to own a gun, and much more.
Here’s the timeline of Missouri’s gun laws over the past 25 years:
1999: Proposition B
A ballot measure called Proposition B in 1999 would have brought back concealed carry to Missouri, but voters in the state’s urban areas defeated it.
2003: Concealed carry
Concealed carry returns to Missouri after a 128-year ban. Eighty-four of Missouri’s 162 representatives sponsored the bill. The state legislature overturned the ban, but kept in place some restrictions on who can get a concealed carry permit:
They must be at least 23 years old
They must submit an application through their local sheriff’s department
Carrying a concealed weapon was banned in certain places
A challenge to this law was brought to the Missouri Supreme Court on the basis that the state’s constitution was amended to ban concealed weapons. However, the court ruled that the constitution does not explicitly forbid them and state lawmakers have the authority to decide who carries them and under what circumstances.
The law stayed in place.
2006: Castle Doctrine
The Missouri legislature passed the Castle Doctrine in 2006, which made it legal for people to use lethal force to defend their entire property, as long as they occupied that property. The doctrine still maintains a duty to retreat.
2007: No permits required
The state does away with its permit-to-purchase handgun law in 2007, which was established in 1921. Permit to purchase is no longer required to buy a firearm.
2016: Stand Your Ground
Stand Your Ground, which first entered the national scene in 2005 when the Florida legislature passed the first law of its kind, and permitless concealed carry became law in Missouri. Stand Your Ground eliminates the Castle Doctrine’s duty to retreat.
2021: Second Amendment Preservation Act
After trying and failing to pass a federal gun law nullification bill in 2017 after then-Gov. Jay Nixon vetoed it, the Missouri General Assembly passed the Second Amendment Preservation Act in 2021.
The new law establishes that state firearm laws trump federal ones, going as far as penalizing local law enforcement $50,000 per infraction if they are found to be working with federal agencies like the ATF and the FBI on gun-related crimes.
The bill is one of the final acts of nearly complete gun deregulation.
