03:29 PM CST on Friday, November 7, 2003

By JIM SALTER, Associated Press Writer

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- A St. Louis judge on Friday permanently barred Missouri's concealed guns law, saying it violates the state constitution.

Attorney General Jay Nixon immediately appealed the ruling.

"We will be asking the Missouri Supreme Court to expedite this matter so we can have a full and final decision on this important public policy issue," Nixon said in a statement. He declined an interview request.

The ruling by Circuit Judge Steven Ohmer made permanent his October temporary injunction against the law, narrowly adopted by the Legislature in a September override of a veto by Gov. Bob Holden.

Ohmer said in a statement the law violates Article I, Section 23 of the Missouri Constitution. That provision states that the right to bear arms "shall not justify the wearing of concealed weapons."

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Gov. Bob Holden called the ruling "appropriate."

"Today's ruling will help protect the people of this state who voted against conceal and carry in 1999," Holden said, noting the law would have allowed concealed guns in places such as schools, hospitals and day care centers.

An attorney for the National Rifle Association, which intervened in the case, said the constitutional provision is not meant as a prohibition against concealed guns. Attorney Stephen Halbrook noted there already are exemptions -- for example, police can carry concealed guns, residents can conceal them in their homes.

"Ever since Missouri has been a state, the Legislature has decided when and where to either allow or prohibit concealed weapons," Halbrook said.

Ohmer granted a temporary injunction Oct. 10 blocking the concealed guns law, which would have taken effect the next day.

Burton Newman, a lawyer for opponents of the concealed-weapons measure, said, "Our ultimate goal has always been a determination with the Missouri Supreme Court that conceal and carry is unconstitutional."

Rep. Larry Crawford, R-Centerton and the House sponsor of the bill, said the ruling was no surprise.

"This is what I expected and what we supporters of this bill expected," Crawford said. "We knew that it was going to the Supreme Court either way."

In testimony before Ohmer last month, attorneys for the law's opponents said framers of Missouri's 1875 and 1945 constitutions were specific in addressing the concealed weapon issue.

Newman said plaintiffs believe the law should also be ruled unconstitutional for other reasons. He plans to file a cross-appeal to the Supreme Court, claiming the law was too vague, that the Legislature tried to adopt it against the wishes of Missourians who voted down a concealed weapons measure (Proposition B) in 1999, and that it violates the state Hancock Amendment by failing to allocate funds to cover the counties' costs for administering the law.

The measure would allow Missourians at least age 23 who pay $100 and pass criminal background checks and training courses to get permits from their county sheriffs to carry concealed guns. It also would allow anyone 21 or older to conceal a gun in a vehicle without need of a permit.

In the 1999 vote, Proposition B was widely supported in much of the state but overwhelmingly defeated in the St. Louis and Kansas City areas.