Conceal Carry

If you haven't seen it yet, Show Me Progress' pair of weekend posts on Rep. Denny Hoskins' (R-Warrensburg) town hall meetings are good examples of citizen journalism. 

In the first, Hoskins struggles to give a straight answer as to why he both supported and opposed a proposed consumption tax (a/k/a "Fair Tax").  When a constituent asked Hoskins why he changed his mind -- from support to opposition -- Hoskins didn't really have a good answer.

Rep. Rick Stream (R-Kirkwood) is being criticized by both sides back home for his contradictory votes on allowing concealed weapons on college campuses.

As reported here at Fired Up! and at Show Me Progress two weeks ago, Stream voted against the final version of the HB668 to allow concealed weapons on campuses. However, his vote against the full bill came after he voted for the controversial amendment to allow weapons on campus with a permit, and after he suggested that concealed weapons would have limited the deaths at the tragic Kirkwood City Council meeting last year.

Late last week, Webster-Kirkwood Times columnist Don Corrigan wrote that our audio of Stream's statements on the Kirkwood shooting "prompted a number of letters" of concern. Stream refused to respond to the Times' inquiries, but did win praise for reversing his position from Stacey Newman:

I am pleased that Rep. Stream was one of three Republicans who voted against a bill that's just wrong...Since voters in his district were 80 percent against concealed weapons, it's good that he has chosen to listen to them.

In contrast, the conservative Kurt Hofman, writing for Examiner.com, is angry with Stream's change of heart.

Yesterday, the House gave final approval to HB 668 to make several changes to state law regarding the use and possession of firearms.  The most controversial portion of the legislation would allow concealed weapons on college campuses. The attempts to remove the campus ban have been widely condemned by college officials, but the amendment to end the ban enjoyed strong support with legislators and passed 106-41.

One of the most vocal supporters of the amendment to end the campus concealed weapons bans last week was Rep. Rick Stream (R-Kirkwood). Indeed, Stream was such a strong believer in ending concealed weapons bans that he audaciously discussed last year's Kirkwood City Council shooting as an example of how concealed weapons could save lives. Talking about the shooting with Rep. Tim Jones (R-Eureka), Stream speculated that if the mayor or other citizens at the meeting had guns, "it's possible that they could have stopped a number of the killings before the assailant was able to run through that chamber like he did."