ST. LOUIS — When Missouri legislators decided to make gun laws some of the most lax in the country, leaders in Kansas City saw what could become the writing on their walls — police unable to do anything about people openly carrying weapons in public spaces.
So, they passed an ordinance in 2016 banning people from openly carrying guns.
And Brad Lemon, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, is glad they did.
“I think it was to give a law enforcement officers and city officials an opportunity to at least try to maintain that if you are going to have weapons that we can see, we get an opportunity to check whether or not you have the capability or the legal ability to carry them,” he said. “We just don’t have an issue with a lot of people walking around carrying weapons that aren’t concealed.”
Now, the St. Louis Board of Aldermen appears to be united behind passing a similar law, aimed at stopping people from openly carrying weapons on city streets.
The board must vote on the plan spear-headed by Cara Spencer one more time this week before it heads to Mayor Tishaura Jones’ desk.
“This is a path that our state law allows us to take, and I think this is a good opportunity for us to at least address the open carry offenders,” Spencer said.
It’s unclear whether the mayor fully supports the idea. In a statement, Jones’ spokesman wrote: “We are reviewing this legislation as well as any safety or operational concerns it could pose to the public and officers. We continue to explore every avenue to implement effective commonsense gun safety laws in St. Louis despite the state’s strict preemption laws.”
Lemon says the ordinance is an important tool for officers in Kansas City.
St. Louis officers are virtually powerless when people – many of them appearing to be juveniles – carry long guns openly downtown. Images of people openly carrying weapons downtown following shootings and other disturbances have surfaced virtually every weekend for months.
During a meeting Friday, aldermen sounded off about the problem.
“Last year a kid in my ward walked down the street with an AR-15 and 600 rounds of ammo and was legal until he fired the gun,” said Ward Alderman Joe Vollmer of the 19-year-old who killed a student and a teacher and injured several others during a school shooting at the Central Visual and Performing Arts High School last fall.
Fourth Ward Alderman Bret Narayan added: “This is a bill to stop children from carrying guns in our city … If you plan on open carrying, be prepared to show your concealed carry permit.”
Lemon says Kansas City has only had to enforce its open carry ban a handful of times and seldom seizes guns – but officers can if needed.
“What we try to do is give people an opportunity to correct their behavior before we start making arrests and putting people in jail,” Lemon said.
Lemon said he was surprised to learn St. Louis doesn’t have an open carry ban in place.
“I think this is one of those times where a law gets passed, we have nothing on our municipal books, and then you have to start going backwards and trying to figure out how to fix what issues might pop up,” he said.
That’s why he said he’s glad city leaders in his town addressed it when state legislators first made the practice legal.