KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Mayor Sly James says he doesn’t want any guns in plain view within city limits in KCMO. The Kansas City Public Safety Committee is backing a ban that would keep people from openly carrying guns in the city.
Mayor James says the sight of open carry is something that people could find too intimidating. We spoke with Councilman John Sharp, who says the biggest concern is that currently people can open carry in the city without passing background checks, and be subject to firearms training like gun owners have to do with conceal carry permits.
The Missouri General Assembly recently passed a bill that would prevent local ordinances from prohibiting open carry for anyone with a valid concealed carry permit. Governor Jay Nixon vetoed the bill, but lawmakers will likely try to override it in September.
While that veto remains in place, the city says state law gives them the green light to regulate open carry.
“The real issue to me is that right now under the law you can carry openly, and you can have an order of protection against you. You can have a string of misdemeanor convictions. You can carry without going through any kind of firearms training at all. It’s all legal,” Councilman Sharp said.
The ordinance would also align city rules with state law when it comes to intoxicated people carrying weapons. Right now, city law prohibits drunk people from carrying weapons. But the General Assembly changed state law to allow them to carry weapons, as long as they don`t handle the weapon negligently or discharge it. Councilman Sharp expects the ordinance to pass when the full council takes it up next week.
