Missouri lawmakers show arrogance with gun issue [WARNING: make-your-blood-boil alert!]

The Kansas City [Red] Star ^ | 9/15/2003 | Mike Hendricks

[Luke Skyfreeper]

Missouri lawmakers show arrogance with gun issue

By MIKE HENDRICKS

Columnist

I'm wondering how long it'll be before they bring back cockfighting and bear baiting in Missouri.

Not long, judging by the contempt most state lawmakers have for the electorate.

Last week, the General Assembly reversed the outcome of a statewide election by allowing Missouri residents to carry concealed weapons.

So why not cockfighting while they're at it? The people voted against that, too, yet we know how much weight a little thing like a public vote means to most Missouri lawmakers these days.

Zip.

It's "to heck with the people" with these folks.

And here I thought Kansas lawmakers had a lock on arrogance. Pfft. They're amateurs compared to the snakes in Jeff City.

"Now, now, Mike. Settle down." That's what some of you are thinking right now, I know.

I should cool off, take a deep breath and relax. A couple of days have passed since the Missouri legislature overturned Gov. Bob Holden's veto of a concealed-carry bill.

Much of the fulminating is past. Despite all the huffing and puffing, it is not the end of the world if Missourians are allowed to carry concealed weapons.

Safeguards are in place. Only those who've been trained and certified will have permission to carry a gun in their purse or hidden under a suit coat.

I agree. That's all true.

Except it misses the point.

This is not about guns. No, not at all. Allowing the debate to be about guns only clouds the real issue.

Which is that the Missouri General Assembly has spit upon the will of the people. The contempt the lawmakers have shown toward the voters is itself contemptible.

Four years ago Missouri voters believed that they'd put this concealed-carry matter to rest.

During the 1990s, many state legislatures took it up at the insistence of the gun lobby. About three dozen states have since adopted some form of concealed-carry legislation.

But Missouri was the only state where the voters were asked to decide, and the gun lobby expected to prevail.

For one thing, the special election was scheduled for April in an off year, when only deeply motivated partisans normally show up at the polls.

Plus, there was the matter of money. The National Rifle Association outspent the opposition 5-to-1, laying out $1.5 million of a $3.7 million ad budget in the final two weeks of the campaign.

But instead of a small turnout, Missouri witnessed a record turnout for a spring election. Some 1.3 million ballots were cast, and when it was all over the gun lobby suffered a demoralizing defeat.

Proposition B failed 52 percent to 48 percent. Although rural voters were heavily in favor of concealed carry, city folks were against it by nearly two to one.

We can argue all day about whether the voters were right, but an election is an election.

Only now that election has been overturned by lawmakers in a disrespectful display of political arrogance.

Is it any wonder people distrust politicians as much as they do?

Some lawmakers are already heading for cover by claiming this new bill has tighter controls than the last proposal.

I think Missourians are smart enough to recognize that as being the poor excuse that it is.

And come election time, I'd hope they'd do their patriotic duty -- and throw the bums out on their cans.

---

To reach Mike Hendricks, call (816) 234-7708 or send e-mail to mhendricks@kcstar.com.

[Luke Skyfreeper]

The smarmy author of this vitriol:

The fact is, the 1999 election was questionable for at least half a dozen reasons.

In fact, I'll back that statement up by listing half a dozen.

1) People didn't have the same access to the facts that legislators now have, so it was not based on an informed opinion. In fact, we now can see 4 more years' track record of success in the States that have ccw now.

2) There were questions of irregularities in the usual places (i.e., the cemeteries of St. Louis).

3) People associated with the Clinton and Carnahan governments appear to have illegally used government resources to campaign against the measure.

4) A disinformation campaign was mounted at the last minute by those opposed. It's only because people believed these lies that the measure narrowly failed.

5) The votes against Proposition B votes by people who favored concealed carry but felt Prop B was a terrible way to try and get it.

6) The financial cost of the measure was materially misrepresented on the ballot.

7) The world, and our attitudes towards self-defense, changed on September 11.

That's 7 reasons, off the top of my head.

Fact is, our legislators, after a 12-year debate, finally did what was right for the people of the state in this issue. No longer will any person, man or woman, under threat in Missouri be unavoidably be counted a FELON just for carrying a defensive weapon for self-protection.

I'm amazed that even the Kansas City [Red] Star will allow manure like this to soil the pages of their paper.

[Atlas Sneezed]

bang

[Atlas Sneezed]

Funny how when the people vote for lower taxes, tougher criminal sentences, or private property rights, and the elites overrule them it is because the people "misunderstood" the issue.

[TheEngineer]

Which is that the Missouri General Assembly has spit upon the will of the people. The contempt the lawmakers have shown toward the voters is itself contemptible.

But the liberals don't have any problem when some liberal activist judge creates new law from the bench. Hypocritical morons.

(Good post, LS... I don't get the St. Louis Compost Dispatch, but I'm sure their editorials were similar.)

[BallandPowder]

Powder..Patch..Ball FIRE!

Someone said to me this weekend "Well they just ignored the will of the people".. my response "They didn't allow St. Louis and Kansas City to determine law for the entire state"

[joebellis]

Additionally, Mike Hendricks, lives in Overland Park, KS.

As such, he does not have a dog in the fight!

[Lee Heggy]

Hendricks is just one of the bedwetting mouthpieces at the Star. The founder of the Star, William Rockhill Nelson is rotating in his grave fast enough run a dynamo that would light the entire city. Pay no attention to the drivel oozing from the Star.

[Shooter 2.5]

I understand the most important reason the Proposition failed is the wording was changed.

If a party proposes a ballot it's up to that side on what the wording can be. I think a judge changed that.

From what I can tell, the wording was something along the lines that ignored "legal and law abiding". It made the voters think that anyone would be able to carry a concealed Weapon including felons.

The opposition also had advertisements on city buses in violation of the law.

I also understand that on election night, the police raided the CCW headquarters but I haven't found that in the later news reports.

[GovernmentShrinker]

So he thinks that if the citizens of Missouri vote to end the right to free speech, the legislators should go along with that too? Apparently he's never heard of the U.S. Constitution (or maybe he's got a weird copy that includes an uninfringeable right to engage in cockfighting).

[ozzymandus]

"Kansas lawmakers had a lock on arrogance"?? That's funny, I recall that Kansas lawmakers passed concealed carry and our RINO gov. vetoed it. Now we have a RAT gov., and the brave lawmakers won't even bring it up.

Anyway, notice how the media elites only approve of letting the proles have a referendum if they get the results they want?

[TigersEye]

"Which is that the Missouri General Assembly has spit upon the will of the people." -Mike Hendricks

"It's a Republic if you can keep it." -Benjamin Franklin

This is not a democracy, Mike, it's a republic. Get used to it or get out.

[zip]

Ping

[urtax$@work]

Thanks for the posting. The argument I like to make about "the will of the people" whine, is that it shows a misunderstanding of our basic form of government. That is, it is a republic not a democracy. The defeat of Proposition B by the people show us that democracy did not work. As you pointed out in several of your numbered items, especially items 1,2,3,4 &6 i believed that these were due to "democratic processes". The representative republic form of govt. showed us a deliberative, informed consensus reached this time, that led to a proper conclusion. (passage of CC)


Other arguments to bring up to the "willofthepeople" types ,
would be that the "little" people, the "disenfranchised" in other words-those outside KC and St. L population finally got an "equal" voice in affairs and a "civil liberty" was
"struggled for" . I'm sure they would understand these catch phrases .

The next big item I wish would be on the legislature's plate, and i think this is more basic- is to
do away with the draconian registration/permission procedure for buying or transferring handguns in Missouri.
Thanks to all the guys at WMSA for their efforts in fighting for this.

[Political Junkie Too]

I wonder why the lawmakers would have contempt for a public that votes for a dead man for the Senate.

-PJ

[zip]

Some 1.3 million ballots were cast, by 900,000 voters with socialists/liberals voing many times in KC and St Louis.

I love it when leftists whine.

[ought-six]

The author seems to confuse a representative republic with pure democracy (the tyranny of the masses -- i.e., the majority -- over the minority). The former is our form of government, the latter a ticket to tyranny and oppression by the many, at the expense of the few. That's why we have a constitution, to protect the freedom and rights of the few and the weak and the unpopular from the yoke of the many and the powerful.

[StarCMC]

So why not cockfighting while they're at it? The people voted against that, too, yet we know how much weight a little thing like a public vote means to most Missouri lawmakers these days.

The people of the state of Missouri voted against allowing games of chance also, but lookee here, we got that. Tit for tat I say. I like this one, hated that one!

[goldstategop]

My point to Mike Hendricks would be that when Missouri voters elected a Republican majority, they saw fit to revisit their earlier decision about concealed weapons. The electorate IS perfectly entitled to change its mind. The reason why this liberal is angry is Missouri lawmakers voted to reflect the wishes of their constituents and to Hendricks, the answer is no we simply CAN'T have that. Its of a piece with liberals' loathing of democracy in wanting to overturn it IF a decision goes against THEM. Typical.

[Mulder]

From what I can tell, the wording was something along the lines that ignored "legal and law abiding". It made the voters think that anyone would be able to carry a concealed Weapon including felons.

That's good point. The 'domestic enemies of the Constitution' make that misrepresentation with CCW laws in every state. And they are still unable to convince 50% of the people to agree with them.

I also understand that on election night, the police raided the CCW headquarters but I haven't found that in the later news reports.

If true, I hope the bastards get the crap sued out of them, and are prosecuted under federal law for violating their civil Rights.

[Tench_Coxe]

Bring back dueling.