By AP/KWMU
St. Louis, MO – A St. Louis judge will hear arguments Thursday about whether the concealed weapons gun law set to take effect Saturday is constitutional.
But first Judge Steven Ohmer must decide whether to keep the trial in St. Louis or move it to Jefferson City, where the law was passed. State Attorney General Jay Nixon asks that the case be transferred to Cole County, where most lawsuits naming the state as a defendant are tried.
The lawsuit claims a provision of the state Constitution prohibits the wearing of concealed firearms. Article I, Section 23 of the Missouri Constitution states:
"That the right of every citizen to keep and bear arms in defense of his home, person and property, or when lawfully summoned in aid of the civil power, shall not be questioned; but this shall not justify the wearing of concealed weapons."
Meanwhile, local police are getting ready for the new law. A half-page ad in today's Post-Dispatch is a letter from St. Louis police chief Joe Mokwa, offering tips on handling a gun safely.
Mokwa says those who get hidden gun permits and who are stopped, should immediately tell an officer they have the gun. He also says people should always carry their permits with them, like a driver's license, and adds thieves might target cars they think have a gun inside.