Gun Laws (Sedalia, Warrensburg, Ozark: transporting, high crime, houses)

[guppie]

Hi all,

We are seriously looking at moving to the Warrensburg/Knob Noster/Sedalia area within the next 1-2 years. I am a pretty enthusiastic hunter and am wondering what the local gun laws are like. Do you have to register your firearms?? What about handguns? Can you carry in plain view, in your car, or concealed?? Any info would be much appreciated. I don't think it would make that big of an impact on our decision, unless the law was no guns at all, which I don't think is true. Thanks again.

[Ozarks21]

There is no registration requirement for long guns, there is for handguns - you have to have a permit to own one. You can take a class and get a permit to carry concealed. You can also carry concealed in your vehicle without a carry permit if you are over age 21. You should look into the laws carefully before transporting a handgun in Missouri just to be sure about all the details.

The hunting here is great - deer, turkey, ducks, geese, doves, small game, and small predators. I'm getting ready for my first archery hunt of the year this weekend.

[Indy4570]

a permit to own a handgun? or a permit to purchase? How do I go about bringing my legally purchased firearms into the state where I plan to reside?

[garth]

Here's a docutment striaght from the NRA about Missouri weapon laws:

http://www.nraila.org/statelawpdfs/MOSL.pdf (broken link)

That should clear up most questions.

[swmoguns]

The handgun permit is for acquisition only... purchase or transfer of ownership. There's no official registration of guns in Missouri. If you've bought handguns legally in other states, they are welcome in Missouri without issue... just simply bring them with you.

Once you become a Missouri citizen and want to buy a handgun at that time, you will be bound to the handgun purchase permit law which requires filling out a form at your local sheriff's office, waiting 5-7 business days for a permit, and paying a $10 fee. Doesn't matter how you acquire it... even if it's given to you for free by a relative... a permit is required. Missouri is the only state in the midwest to require handgun acquisition permits. There's discussion in the Missouri legislature to get the current permit laws cancelled hopefully as soon as this summer.

Of course no permit is needed to purchase long guns and rifles and they can be purchased by Missouri residents out of state.

[Indy4570]

Thank You for the clarification. I had heard about the possibility of the requirement being dropped. I have other concerns about my concealed carry permit. It states in the Mo. regs that i cannot apply for 6 months after becoming a resident. Once I have become a resident it would stand to reason that my current out of state permit that is honored in Mo. presently would be null and void. That would leave me and my wife,(we both have carry permits) without carry rights for at least six months and maybe more depending on how long it takes Missouri to process the application. There is also a gray area as to what the state of Missouri considers firearm training as stated in the regs. Does anyone know if Missouri honors any state's "non-resident" carry permit? Thanks for any info on the issue

[Ozarks21]

According to ccrkba.org, Missouri recognizes all permits issued by other States.

[Indy4570]

I understand that but there are increasing numbers of states that offer "non-resident" permits to non-residents. Some states will not recognize those permits but some do. My "resident" permit is not honored in some states because they feel they are too easy to get and not enough training is required. In my state they have always been issued if a person had a clean record. Several states having established a concealed weapon permit in the last ten years have had extensive requirements involving extensive,(and expensive!) training and excessive costs. for instance my state permit is not honored in Ohio but If I obtained a "non-resident permit from Florida it would be recognized. But Ohio will not recognize a "non-resident " permit from New Hampshire. The constantly changing laws concerning this issue have spawned an industry printing guides every year so that the law abiding gun owner can stay on the right side of the law. Traveling in this country has become a real challenge with stops prior to crossing state lines sometimes necessary to comply with different laws. There is currently national legislation in progress to address the situation making it legal for any person holding a legal permit from any state to travel across state lines and still retain the ability to protect him or her self and family. Another interesting result from the illegal confiscation of legally owned firearms following hurricane Katrina is that several states have passed legislation making it illegal for the legally owned weapons to be confiscated especially when looting and crime spike after such disasters. There is a sad video of New Orleans police knocking a frail old woman down to take an old pistol she produced when asked if she had any guns. The people of New Orleans are still fighting with Ray Nagin and the city trying to get the return of their weapons despite several court orders to return them. It is interesting to see that there are only two holdout states that don't have a right to carry law even when so many are "blue" states. Illinois and Wisconsin are the last two holdouts. The Wisconsin law made it out of both houses twice but the governor vetoed it twice. The political engine in Chicago makes it seem unlikely that citizens of Illinois will have the right to protect themselves away from home any time soon. I will have to do more research as to when my resident permit officially "expires" as to residency. Since I was a small child the right to carry following a background check by state police has always been available In my state. I don't think that Indiana has ever been considered a high crime state as a result of that fact. Indiana recently became the first state to offer a lifetime permit. It goes without saying that your record must remain clean! It does however stop the money machine that some states have implemented making you pay large fees every few years to renew your permit. When a nics check can be performed in a matter of minutes any time almost anywhere for no fee at all it seems that such tactics are simply to discourage one from getting a permit.

I try to make it a priority to know as much about the local gun laws anywhere i go

[garth]

Boy, am I glad I have a national CCW. Dealing with this stuff on a state by state basis has to be a pain.

[Indy4570]

after a check of available information from the site listed by Ozarks21, it would appear that the state of Missouri will indeed recognize "non-resident" permits issued by other states. I have not been able to verify this with MO. state laws but it is posted as such on the afore mentioned site. I will continue my research to provide a definite answer to my own question!!