Missouri legislature overrides veto on voter ID and gun laws News
Missouri legislature overrides veto on voter ID and gun laws

The Missouri legislature [official website] on Wednesday overrode [press release] vetoes by Governor Jay Nixon [official website] to approve bills requiring voter identification and removing the need to renew permits in order to carry a concealed weapon. HB 1931 [materials] requires individuals to present a government-issued photo ID in order to vote, which the governor stated would cause unnecessary harm [veto letter, PDF] to vulnerable populations. However it will not change the voting procedures for the upcoming Presidential election as the bill is not set to take effect until 2017. SB 656 [materials] expands the rights of gun owners by protecting concealed carry individuals from arrest for carrying their weapons onto private properties where guns are prohibited and creating lifetime concealed carry permits. The lifetime permits, which may last either 10 or 25 years, allow individuals the right to concealed carry without having to go through the renewal process every five years, but do require the sheriff to perform background checks for criminal conduct every five years. The National Rifle Association applauded [press release] the move while opponents argue [St. Louis Post-Dispatch report] the bill will create more issues for safety and order.

Last month an Oklahoma court upheld [JURIST report] a controversial voter ID law allowing the law to be in place while early voting commenced for a primary run-off. In July voter restrictions were overturned not only in North Carolina, but in Kansas and Wisconsin [JURIST reports]. The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held [JURIST report] in June that the right to carry a concealed gun is not within Second Amendment right to bear arms.

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