Constitutional carry is NOT concealed carry

Confusion seems to run rampant when the topic of constitutional carry vs. concealed carry of firearms comes up.

It is so complicated that Cedar County Prosecutor Ty Gaither told the Sun he will have to research it before giving the public definite guidelines. He said he was not comfortable talking about it on the record off the top of his head.

El Dorado Springs Police Chief Jarrod Schiereck told the Sun, “You can be charged with a crime if you enter certain places, such as Schools, Government Buildings, Churches and where businesses post carry is not allowed, without having a Conceal Carry Permit. The Constitutional Carry in general all other places. It’s good to get the permit.”   

Gil Baker, local Concealed Carry trainer, said requests for his classes went to zero after the first of the year because gun owners think that Constitutional Carry gives the same privileges as Concealed Carry and it does not.

Constitutional Carry only applies in Missouri. It does not permit a Missouri resident to carry in any of the states that have a reciprocal agreement with Missouri. There is a long list of states that honor a Missouri Concealed Carry permit.

Here’s what the Cedar County Prosecutor told the Sun on this topic, “When you say constitutional carry, I assume you are talking about the amendment that was passed by the people last year. It basically says we have a right to bear arms which is not the same thing as constitutional carry. The law was changed from the old CCW law to reduce the punishment for carrying a concealed weapon. Having said all that, in order to give good advice to you on all the ins and outs, I’m going to have to sit down with all three: the old law, the new law and the constitutional thing. The constitutional thing did not give you the right to carry concealed so much as the right to bear arms.”

“As a matter of fact, I thought about the same thing about a month ago. I thought to myself: There is some confusion on what the new law is, some confusion on what the constitutional thing says. I really need to sit down and write out a small page or two and tell everybody what it is.”

The prosecutor said, “It is confusing. Under the old law, some of the things were felonies. Now most of them are misdemeanors. And it says, ‘And oh, by the way, as long as you get out of the car, it’s OK, or if you are told to leave and do, then it’s not a crime.’ But it’s not the same thing as the constitutional carry. Well, there’s no such thing as constitutional carry. It’s not the same thing as the amendment that was passed by the people of the constitution – the right to bear arms. Which is what I think you are referring to as Constitutional Carry.”

Sun: “I’m looking for concealed carry.”

Gaither, “There is no such thing as constitutional conceal and carry. I will tell you what the constitutional says. I’m going to review it. Then I will compare it to the new law. The new law is statutory. It’s not constitutional. The new law wasn’t passed as an amendment to the constitution. It was passed by the legislature.”

“I will review that. There is some confusion about what is out there.”

Sun: “Yes, because people think with constitutional carry that they can carry concealed.”

“That is not true,” Prosecutor Gaither said.