Missouri Lawmakers Vote Against Banning Children From Carrying Guns In Public

[fooferdoggie]

The stupid burns so much. I mean come on now they cant drink or smoke but guns are fine? The same tried and true reasons the GOP always gives.

There is currently no age minimum to openly carry a gun in Missouri.
Calls for change were triggered after a number of local holdups by armed teens. Videos have captured groups of children openly carrying rifles, including military-style weapons, as they walk the streets.

Democratic state Rep. Donna Baringer, who sponsored the amendment to a public safety bill, said that police in her district asked for the change. “We have 14-year-olds walking down the middle of the street in the city of St. Louis carrying AR-15s,” she said, recalling what officers had told her.
“Now they [the children] have been emboldened, and they are walking around with them,” she added, per The Associated Press. “Until they actually brandish them, and brandish them with intent, our police officers ... are handcuffed.”

Missouri Lawmakers Vote Against Banning Children From Carrying Guns In Public

A Democrat who sponsored the proposal said police asked for the change, adding that “we have 14-year-olds ... carrying AR-15s."

www.huffpost.com

 

[Alli]

Do they take them to school?

 

[fooferdoggie]

Do they take them to school?

Yes it's fucking crazy. but it's the parents that are letting their kids do it too.

 

[Roller]

Yes it's fucking crazy. but it's the parents that are letting their kids do it too.

Letting them? I bet these parents are encouraging their kids to carry. After all, they need to take out anyone who tries to "wake" them or maybe shoot a classmate who bothers them.

 

[Herdfan]

Yes it's fucking crazy. but it's the parents that are letting their kids do it too.

I may be a bit naive on this, but my take is the parents lost control of these kids long ago.

 

[Eric]

I may be a bit naive on this, but my take is the parents lost control of these kids long ago.

Even more reason to keep guns out of their hands.

 

[fooferdoggie]

I may be a bit naive on this, but my take is the parents lost control of these kids long ago.

don't bet on it. where did these kids get these ar 15s?

 

[lizkat]

don't bet on it. where did these kids get these ar 15s?

Under the Christmas tree.

 

[Herdfan]

don't bet on it. where did these kids get these ar 15s?

The same place most gang members get theirs.

 

[Eric]

The same place most gang members get theirs.

Is that a fact? Would love to see a source here.

 

[Eric]

don't bet on it. where did these kids get these ar 15s?

We're talking about children here and contrary to popular belief they're not getting them from the mean streets of rural Missouri, they're getting them from irresponsible parents, many of which have a hatred for government and radical right wing views.

 

[fooferdoggie]

The same place most gang members get theirs.

did it say the kids were in a gang?? no this is law abiding kids running around with AR 15's and the GOP supports them. where is the even possible a gang thing? are ou saying the GOP are supporting gangs with AR 15's?

 

[lizkat]

The same place most gang members get theirs.

Possibly true in the St.Louis district that Donna Baringer represents in the MO state legislature.

However she was introducing a measure meant to apply to the whole state, and many parents in rural areas likely do let sub-teens use AR15 style weapons for hunting, even if usually with parental supervision.

Such weapons are sometimes given as birthday or Christmas presents. Or anyway if you believe some of the campaign ads run by Rs in red states last year before elections, that option was casually implied.

Bottom line in Missouri, the state laws are practically nonexistent regarding long guns.

What are the gun laws in Missouri?

Concealed carry is much easier under a 2017 law.

www.news-leader.com

Some excerpts:

Do you need a permit to own a firearm in Missouri?

No.​

Do you have to register any firearms in Missouri?

No.​

Can an adult legally sell or give a rifle to a 17-year-old?

Yes. Minors can own or possess long guns, but under federal law, a person must be 18 or older to possess a handgun and be 21 or older to buy one.​

Who can openly carry a gun in Missouri, and where is it allowed?

Missouri allows the open carrying of firearms anywhere they are not prohibited. Cities can limit where openly carried firearms are allowed. Open carry typically is not allowed at churches, polling places and federal property. Many private businesses legally bar guns from their premises.​

Who can sell firearms in Missouri?

There are no state regulations on gun dealers — although federal law requires a Federal Firearms License (FFL) "if you repetitively buy and sell firearms with the principal motive of making a profit," according to the ATF.​

In contrast, those “who make occasional sales, exchanges, or purchases of firearms for the enhancement of a personal collection or for a hobby, or who sells all or part of his personal collection of firearms" are not required to have an FFL.​

 

[Roller]

The same place most gang members get theirs.

Regardless of where you think the guns are coming from, in what rational world is it acceptable not to make it illegal for children to carry them?

 

[lizkat]

Regardless of where you think the guns are coming from, in what rational world is it acceptable not to make it illegal for children to carry them?

Yeah that was the point of law enforcement in St. Louis recently, in supporting the bill that failed to pass: that there are 14-yos brandishing AR15s "because they can" on the streets of St.Louis.

But their hands are tied because a person carrying a weapon must demonstrate intent to harm or show they are pointing a weapon without justification before the cops can intervene... and meanwhile if they do manage to bust a kid without killing him or getting killed themselves in one of these encounters, the kid gets a record that may follow him the rest of his life, even though he's a just a juvenile with zero judgment and under a lot of peer pressure to act just like these kids are acting now, swaggering down the road in groups carrying AR15s.

It's a recipe for tragedy. What is St.Louis now anyway, "Beirut West?" where every kid over age of 7 knows how to use an AK47?

You'd think some of the parents of this age group would have wanted their state reps to put a minimum age limit on the books for possession of long guns on public property without parental supervision. But no, apparently they're letting their (mostly Republican) reps speak for them, and so it went like this:

Republican opponents blasted the proposal as an unnecessary infringement on gun rights.

“While it may be intuitive that a 14-year-old has no legitimate purpose, it doesn’t actually mean that they’re going to harm someone. We don’t know that yet,” argued Republican state Rep. Tony Lovasco, who represents a St. Louis suburb.

“We don’t charge people with crimes because we think they’re going to hurt someone,” he added.

The bolding up there was mine. Well they do know that because there have already been incidents with the teens and their damn long guns robbing people at city ATMs. Nice that Mr. Lovasco lives in a suburb.