JEFFERSON CITY, MISSOURI — No one will ever miss their concealed carry renewal deadline ever again if Missouri State Senator Dave Schatz has his way. This Missouri senator is proposing legislation which would in effect make a concealed carry permit issued in the state to last the lifetime of the concealed carrier. His rationale is that he wants to avoid the cost and hassle of renewing every five years — the current period for which a Missouri concealed carry permit is good for.
At present, every time a concealed carrier goes to renew his permit, Missouri conducts a full background investigation on the individual. This is largely unnecessary because the crime reporting system in the state automatically tracks and updates for individuals who have been indicted, arrested, or sent to prison. In effect, if you get issued a lifetime concealed carry permit in Missouri, it’s automatically revoked in the event of being indicted for a violent felony or misdemeanor domestic violence.
via KMOV 4
“If you commit a crime and you’re a concealed carry holder, that permit is no longer valid anyway, so regardless of whether we went back and renewed it that thing would be revoked and rejected,” Schatz said.
All in all, it saves the concealed carrier time, money, and hassle.
As KMOV 4 reports, the new measure would only apply to Missouri residents who wish to stay within the state. If you travel out of state with your concealed carry permit, you’re going to need a traditional concealed carry permit due to reciprocity laws with other states.
There has been some push back to the measure, especially from sheriffs and law enforcement who are not yet confident with the crime reporting systems to ensure that no one slips through the cracks. And they may have a point.
More importantly, if other states don’t acknowledge that lifetime permit, a person still has to go back and renew at some set number of years.
This is a great idea but its application may not be refined enough to fit the bill. This proposed measure is set to hit the floor of the Senate after it passes the Judicial Committee.
