Well three of the counties that were exempted by the Supreme Court want to go ahead, but some counties that weren't exempted are fighting it. I like the part where in Cape they are using prisoner's fees to pay for the costs. How ironic....
Jeff
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/ne...ffs+make+plans+to+issue+concealed+gun+permits
Sheriffs make plans to issue concealed gun permits
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
03/17/2004
3 exempted counties
identify ways to cover
costs of issuing permits
JEFFERSON CITY - Although exempted from a new concealed guns law by the Missouri Supreme Court, sheriffs in three counties are forging ahead anyway with plans to issue permits to local residents.
The Supreme Court on Feb. 26 generally upheld the constitutionality of the law. But the court also said sheriffs in Camden, Cape Girardeau, Greene and Jackson counties did not have to issue permits because trial court testimony showed they would incur costs not covered by the state.
The ruling essentially explained how similar claims could be raised in any of Missouri's other 110 counties and the city of St. Louis, but it also left an opening for the four exempted counties to implement the law voluntarily.
Greene County began accepting concealed gun applications Monday after the sheriff worked out an alternative funding source. County commissioners voted Monday in Cape Girardeau County and Tuesday in Camden County to also proceed with the law after identifying local funding. Both counties planned to begin accepting applications by appointment today.
The new law allows most people age 23 and older to get permits after passing firearms training courses and background checks and paying a fee of up to $100.
As of Tuesday, the state Highway Patrol said it had received 385 fingerprint cards from concealed gun applicants in 14 counties already implementing the law. But that figure doesn't include electronically submitted fingerprints, meaning the total likely is higher.
The Supreme Court's ruling cited the patrol's $38 fingerprint processing fee as one of the uncompensated new duties required by the law. The court interpreted the law as allowing the $100 fee to be spent only on equipment and training - not fingerprinting or personnel costs.
Greene County Sheriff Jack Merritt said he was paying for fingerprint checks, processing and personnel costs from a separate fund that gets its money from such things as serving subpoenas and divorce papers. He said the $100 application fee would go toward his equipment costs, which could exceed $30,000 for a new electronic fingerprint scanner, copy machine and fax machine.
Cape Girardeau County plans to pay for any concealed gun expenses through its Crime Reduction Fund, consisting of donations, fees from prisoners' long-distance telephone calls and fees paid by defendants as part of their probation.
A similar approach is planned in Camden County, with the fingerprinting fee paid directly to the patrol while the sheriff's office collects a $15 fee that would go into the fund restricted for equipment and training, said Presiding County Commissioner Carolyn Loraine.
Jeff
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/ne...ffs+make+plans+to+issue+concealed+gun+permits
Sheriffs make plans to issue concealed gun permits
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
03/17/2004
3 exempted counties
identify ways to cover
costs of issuing permits
JEFFERSON CITY - Although exempted from a new concealed guns law by the Missouri Supreme Court, sheriffs in three counties are forging ahead anyway with plans to issue permits to local residents.
The Supreme Court on Feb. 26 generally upheld the constitutionality of the law. But the court also said sheriffs in Camden, Cape Girardeau, Greene and Jackson counties did not have to issue permits because trial court testimony showed they would incur costs not covered by the state.
The ruling essentially explained how similar claims could be raised in any of Missouri's other 110 counties and the city of St. Louis, but it also left an opening for the four exempted counties to implement the law voluntarily.
Greene County began accepting concealed gun applications Monday after the sheriff worked out an alternative funding source. County commissioners voted Monday in Cape Girardeau County and Tuesday in Camden County to also proceed with the law after identifying local funding. Both counties planned to begin accepting applications by appointment today.
The new law allows most people age 23 and older to get permits after passing firearms training courses and background checks and paying a fee of up to $100.
As of Tuesday, the state Highway Patrol said it had received 385 fingerprint cards from concealed gun applicants in 14 counties already implementing the law. But that figure doesn't include electronically submitted fingerprints, meaning the total likely is higher.
The Supreme Court's ruling cited the patrol's $38 fingerprint processing fee as one of the uncompensated new duties required by the law. The court interpreted the law as allowing the $100 fee to be spent only on equipment and training - not fingerprinting or personnel costs.
Greene County Sheriff Jack Merritt said he was paying for fingerprint checks, processing and personnel costs from a separate fund that gets its money from such things as serving subpoenas and divorce papers. He said the $100 application fee would go toward his equipment costs, which could exceed $30,000 for a new electronic fingerprint scanner, copy machine and fax machine.
Cape Girardeau County plans to pay for any concealed gun expenses through its Crime Reduction Fund, consisting of donations, fees from prisoners' long-distance telephone calls and fees paid by defendants as part of their probation.
A similar approach is planned in Camden County, with the fingerprinting fee paid directly to the patrol while the sheriff's office collects a $15 fee that would go into the fund restricted for equipment and training, said Presiding County Commissioner Carolyn Loraine.
