Missouri Senator Kurt Schaefer (R, Columbia) says the Department of Revenue (DOR) has continued to withhold information from his legislative committee about the list of conceal carry weapons (CCW) holders that the agency compiled for the federal government.
Schaefer told reporters Tuesday that they’ve found an email that states the request was made jointly by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, as well as the Social Security Administration. He says Department of Revenue officials knew the ATF was included in the request, but chose not to disclose that fact to his committee.
“Who is the gatekeeper of Missourians’ private information? It’s apparent, in this administration, no one is the gatekeeper," Schaefer said. "Not only are they negligent in being the gatekeeper, they are affirmatively producing these lists and providing them to outside entities in direct violation of state law.”
Governor Jay Nixon (D) had announced earlier Tuesday that the Dept. of Revenue would no long scan or retain source documents for CCW applicants. Following the afternoon's Medicaid rally, Nixon accused Republican lawmakers of using the controversy to divert attention away from the need to expand Medicaid to more Missourians. Schaefer fired back, saying that Nixon grossly misunderstands the concerns of the public if he thinks the release of the state’s conceal carry list to the federal government is a minor issue.
Lt. Governor Peter Kinder (R) joined Schaefer at a press conference, where he accused Nixon of deliberately misleading Missouri citizens for weeks.
Schaefer says he also wants to question former Revenue Director Alana Barragan-Scott. She ran the agency from 2009 until December of 2012, when Governor Nixon appointed her to be a judge on the Administrative Hearing Commission.
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