It’s Time for Missouri Lawmakers to Scrap This ‘Gun-Free Zone’

In all honestly, getting rid of this particular “gun-free zone” is long overdue, but there’s reason to believe that this might actually be the year Missouri legislators ditch the state’s current prohibition on lawful carrying on public transportation. 

State Sen. Adam Schnelting offered a similar proposal last year, but after making headway in the Senate the bill stalled out in the wake of the shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl celebration parade. So what’s changed to make Schnelting cautiously optimistic that this year will be different? 

Former Majority Floor Leader Jon Patterson, R-Lee’s Summit, said at the time, “Now is not the appropriate time to be taking up those bills, and therefore, they will not be brought up this session.” Schnelting called that decision “premature.”

This year, leadership in the House appears to be signaling support for Schnelting’s proposal. In a press conference last week, Patterson, who’s now the House speaker, said, “Protecting the Second Amendment and making sure that there is absolutely no erosion of our Second Amendment rights is a priority for House Republicans.”

Senate President Cindy O’Laughlin, R-Shelbina, said in a statement, “Our caucus is committed to protecting the rights of law-abiding citizens, including the right to bear arms.”

House and Senate leaders are at least saying the right thing, but whether they follow through is still an open question, and Missouri gun owners should be contacting their own representatives and senators and encouraging them to sign on as co-sponsors. We know the anti-gun lobby will be rallying opposition to the measure, and they’ll likely have help from public transit officials in St. Louis and Kansas City.

Taulby Roach, president and CEO of Bi-State Development, likens public transit to stadiums and airports — busy venues where people congregate and firearms are banned.

“We feel that concealed carry is not a reasonable assumption in a transit environment, just like it isn’t reasonable in a stadium or any really large crowd situation,” Roach said in an interview with the Post-Dispatch. 

He says Schnelting’s bill, if it becomes law, poses a risk to his public safety officers. 

Sen. Brian Williams, D-University City, also strongly opposes Schnelting’s bill.

“Allowing guns on the MetroLink is a recipe for disaster,” Williams said. “I look forward to a spirited debate, but I can tell you right now, it’s going to be very difficult for that type of language to get through the Senate.”

Williams said if the bill were to make it to the Senate floor, he would lead a filibuster against it.

There are some big differences between Arrowhead Stadium and a Metro Area Express bus in Kansas City. Stadiums typically have security stationed at every entrance, and may even require patrons to go through magnetometers or a bag check before they can come inside. Public transit, on the other hand, is generally wide open in terms of access, with little-to-no security measures in place beyond any public safety officers patrolling the transit system.

Stadiums are also destinations, unlike public transit. Why should someone who can lawfully carry a firearm in self-defense be forced to use a car, bike, feet, or rideshare service to get around if they want to exercise their right to bear arms? Prohibiting public transit users from carrying in self-defense doesn’t just keep them from carrying on a bus or a train. It prevents them from exercising their right to carry throughout their daily routine. 

Williams, meanwhile, claims that repealing this “gun-free zone” would be a disaster, but the truth is that violent criminals are already violating the law. Here are just a few headlines from last year regarding crime on St. Louis’s MetroLink system:

Victim identified in fatal shooting at Forest Park MetroLink station, 17-year-old charged

Police investigating shooting on MetroLink train

Riders react to shooting at Civic Center MetroLink station

Man pleads guilty in fatal shooting of stranger on MetroLink 

MetroLink shooting that injured 17-year-old girl caught on camera

It sounds to me like prohibiting lawful gun owners from being able to carry on MetroLink has been a disaster. Criminals are emboldened to carry out attacks in this gun-free zone, knowing full well that they’re likely to be the only one in the area with a gun. It’s the law-abiding who are put at risk thanks to this policy. 

It’s despicable that Williams wants to filibuster an attempt to allow folks to protect themselves, not just on public transit but before and after they reach their destination. But that’s all the more reason for gun owners in Missouri to start lobbying their lawmakers and asking them to get on board with Schnelting’s proposal. Missouri already has pretty good gun laws, but repealing this particular “gun-free zone” would be a major victory for Second Amendment and public safety advocates.