Too bad, you folks lost this one. You'll just have to fight again until to get it.
Pro-Gun Forces Suffer Setback in Missouri
By Thomas B. Edsall
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 7, 1999; Page A3
ST. LOUIS, April 6 – Pro-gun forces, on the ropes after a series of political defeats and court challenges, suffered a major setback today after pouring $3.8 million into a bid to win the first state ballot measure on whether law-abiding citizens should have the right to carry concealed handguns.
With more than 98 percent of the vote counted, opponents held a solid 52 percent margin, 661,962 to 614,782, in a contest in which big bucks faced off against big names, including first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton.
The measure went down to defeat at the hands of suburban white voters and black city voters, whose solid opposition more than offset pro-gun forces in rural Missouri. Voters in St. Louis and surrounding counties voted no by 3 to 1 ratios, while the Kansas City area voted no by an 8 to 5 ratio. In addition, pre-election polling showed women far more opposed to the proposal than men.
The outcome today was a boost for the Senate bid of Gov. Mel Carnahan (D), who opposed the measure and whose daughter ran the opposition campaign. Carnahan is challenging Sen. John D. Ashcroft (R-Mo.), who supported the proposition and participated in radio commercials in its behalf.
The vote marked a crucial test of whether the National Rifle Association still has the political muscle to battle what has been growing momentum for gun control.
For years, proponents of gun control have been on the losing end of the debate. As recently as the 1994 elections, after Congress passed the assault weapons ban, votes for that measure were considered a factor in the defeat of a number of southern Democrats.
In 1996, however, the politics of gun control flipped. President Clinton used his support of the assault weapons ban and the Brady bill to advantage in the contest, while Republican nominee Robert J. Dole was forced by the weight of public opinion to play down his support of gun rights.
In private, a number of gun rights supporters say that a major setback to their cause was the profound public concern over the misuse of weapons and explosives prompted first by Timothy J. McVeigh and the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, and then by the widespread disclosure of anti-government, private militias in states everywhere.
In their bid to regain leverage in the debate, gun rights activists here stole a page from the playbook of the abortion rights movement. They asserted in radio and television ads that bombarded this state that men and women should have the freedom of "choice" to exercise the right to carry a handgun for their own protection.
In one ad, a woman told viewers, "You probably heard of the southside rapist . . . I was one of his victims. So I am going to vote for Proposition B, the right to carry, absolutely. It may not be something you want to do, but I'm asking you to give me the right to protect myself."
In another, Charlton Heston, president of the NRA, declared: "America's greatness comes from our fight for individual rights. The Constitution, the Civil War, women's suffrage, the civil rights movement. These freedoms define America. . . . Don't cave in to the politically correct elite. It's your choice. It's your right," referring to the Second Amendment, "to bear arms."
The "choice and rights" strategy adopted by the NRA and its local ally, Missourians Against Crime, initially threw gun control advocates on the defensive. Unwilling to challenge the right to carry a weapon, opponents of the measure argued that the law would have too many loopholes.
"They sold choice and rights, and if you take rights as an absolute, then it makes sense to vote for Proposition B. We are arguing that it was written with loopholes big enough that the guy next to you in the ballpark can have [a concealed weapon]. The question is, how will voters juxtapose these two conflicting feelings?" said Saul Shorr, who produced the commercials for opponents of the measure.
While on the ropes nationally, the NRA -- until today -- had been successfully building a "right to carry" movement that has been gaining momentum at the state level. In the last decade, a majority of state legislatures have passed concealed weapons laws. But today's referendum is the first time the issue was put before voters and was viewed as a key barometer of the NRA's political strength.
"Our opponents are always contending we are strong-arming legislatures to do these things, with campaign contributions rather than representing the will of the people. Should we manage to win, it will put the lie to that. There are real people out there who believe these things," said James J. Baker, chief lobbyist for the NRA, which has put nearly $3.8 million into this referendum.
"The NRA has been taking it on the chin left and right, gun sales are down, the gun lobby is backing up when it comes to lawsuits, and they have not won a major issue is the last three years. So they are really raising the stakes on this," said Brian Morton, associate director of Handgun Control.
Today's vote was a victory for the Clinton administration, which has made gun control a centerpiece of its agenda, winning passage of the assault weapon ban and the Brady handgun law. The commitment was reflected by Hillary Clinton's involvement in the referendum here.
In a taped message that was used in at least 75,000 calls directed as much as possible to women, Hillary Clinton argued that the proposed law "is so poorly written with so many loopholes it would allow people convicted of assault, stalking -- even child molesting -- to carry hidden guns in places like malls, stadiums, restaurants and even schoolyards."
If Proposition B had passed, applicants in Missouri would have needed a second permit to carry a concealed weapon. They would have had to undergo criminal and mental health background checks, take at least 12 hours of state-approved training and have had no violent offenses on their records for at least five years.
Missouri banned the carrying of concealed weapons in 1875, when Jesse James was still at large. Citizens must obtain permits to own a gun.
© Copyright 1999 The Washington Post Company
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