Missouri Permitless Carry Goes Into Effect
On January 1st 2017 Senate Bill 656 goes into effect. This new law allows open and concealed carry throughout the state, for those 18 years or older, with or without a concealed carry permit. It remains illegal, however, for domestic violence offenders and felons to carry a firearm. This was a good battle in the state legislature. Even with Governor Jay Nixon vetoing the bill state legislatures were able to get enough votes to overrule the veto and pass the law into effect.
Like usual when a permitless carry or constitutional carry law goes into effect it comes with a lot of confusion. Here we will try to clarify the effects of the new law as it relates to the carrying of a concealed handgun with or without a permit.
Under the new law 18 year olds can carry permitless but still cannot obtain a Missouri Concealed Carry Permit until the age of 19.
Under state statute those with permits can only be charged with an infraction if they carry into a place prohibited by statute. Those carrying permitless can be charged with a class B misdemeanor.
The state preemption law prohibits local jurisdictions from prohibiting permitless concealed carry, but local jurisdictions can still ban permitless open carry.
The Missouri concealed carry permit is widely honored across the country (get map here). Permitless carry will only be honored in the handful of other states that have permitless or constitutional carry laws.
