JEFFERSON CITY • When Gov. Mike Parson’s administration proposed a plan to allow visitors to carry guns in the Missouri Capitol, they asked for comments about the policy from the public.
The response was an outcry of opposition. Every one of the 50 comments that flowed in between mid-November and mid-December opposed the plan, saying firearms should not be allowed in the building, even if the owners have concealed carry permits.
“I will not allow my children to attend any field trips if this is allowed,” said one respondent in a trove of emails and letters obtained by the Post-Dispatch.
“At the present time, visitors are not permitted to bring knives into the Capitol building. Balloons are not allowed either. What is the rationale for allowing firearms, the most deadly weapons of all, on the property?” wrote another.
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It remained unclear Friday whether the unanimous opposition had the administration rethinking the policy, which was quietly announced in November.
“The Office of Administration is reviewing the public comments and is working to complete that review,” agency spokeswoman Brittany Ruess said.
But, given the response from the public, the issue could become the subject of a hearing later this year by a panel of lawmakers charged with reviewing administrative rule changes affecting state government operations.
The dust-up over guns in the Capitol began two years ago when Parson’s predecessor, Eric Greitens, temporarily barred most visitors and employees from bringing concealed firearms into the building.
Some lawmakers balked at the ban. Outgoing Rep. Nick Marshall, R-Platte County, for example, said the ban infringed on the rights and freedoms of visitors to the Capitol.
After the prohibition took effect, Marshall erected a sign on his office door in the Capitol offering to lend guns to people while they visit the building.
Greitens, who left office under the cloud of scandal on June 1, reversed course a month later and said guns would be OK if the owners had permits.
Owners would be limited in where they could take their weapons. Under the proposed rule, no firearms are allowed in the House or Senate chambers nor in committee hearing rooms.
Some opponents wrote that they were mystified about why the rule should be made permanent.
“In today’s environment of hyper-partisanship and with politically motivated incidents of violence on the rise across the country, why would Missouri lawmakers entertain such an idea at this particular moment in time?” one wrote.
“I believe a rule allowing this is both unnecessary and dangerous,” wrote another.
In a handwritten note to the administration, one woman said Capitol visitors already must go through metal detectors to enter the facility.
“So why would people also need to carry firearms for safety when all visitors would already be screened?” she asked.
Ruth Ehresman and Mary Clemons, co-presidents of the University City-based Women’s Voices Raised for Social Justice, also weighed in on behalf of the organization’s 1,600 supporters.
“Many school groups visit the Capitol. Children and teachers should not be subjected to people with firearms roaming the building,” they wrote.
The administration has until mid-February to submit the rule, either in its original form or an amended version, to the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules.
The committee would then have 30 days to sign off on the change or reject it.
The administration also has the option to withdraw the rule from consideration.
That’s the route all of the respondents are advocating.
“This rule should not be enacted,” wrote one woman. “This rule is a bad idea!”
