Bills have been introduced in both t he Missouri House and Senate this session which would allow individuals with conceal/carry permits to carry their firearms on public transit buses, vans, trains, and other spaces owned or operated by a public transit provider.
The largest Missouri transit providers including Bi-State Development/Metro Transit, KCATA, and City Utilities of Springfield are providing tens of millions of rides each year and have publicly expressed opposition to conceal and carry on transit. The proposed bill is especially problematic in areas like St. Louis where the system spans both Missouri and Illinois. Crimes on the St. Louis transit system are down according to the three police units responsible for patrolling the MetroLink alignment. The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority has a partnership with their local police force to patrol the KCATA system. These local partnerships with law enforcement are allowing local control to determine the best actions for a particular system.
On Tuesday HB 1901 and 1722 dealing with conceal a carry on transit buses and trains was taken up in the House General Laws Committee. The committee combined the two bills into a House Committee Substitute (HCS) and voted them out on an 11-2 vote. The bills now go to the House Rules Legislative Oversight Committee for another vote before it can be placed on the House Perfection Calendar.
On Thursday of this week, the Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Committee rescheduled the hearing for Senate Bill 700 which had been canceled last week. This bill, sponsored by Senator Onder, allows those who have a conceal carry permit to carry guns on buses and trains. This committee heard the same bill last year. The bill is the Senate companion to HB 1722 and HB 1901 highlighted above. No one testified on Thursday in support of the bill while MPTA, along with the City of Kansas City, Citizens for Modern Transit and KCATA provided opposing testimony.
“The Missouri Public Transit Association (MPTA) understands the reasoning behind these bills is to improve safety on transit. However, allowing firearms on public transit may serve as a detriment to ridership and has not been proven to enhance safety and security of any system. There is an unacceptable risk on transit vehicles that someone could be harmed if a gun is fired or discharged accidently. MPTA opposes any legislation which would allow carrying concealed weapons (CCW) on transit,” said Kim Cella, executive director of the MPTA. “Safe, reliable, affordable, and efficient public transportation systems increase access to employment, education and health care in our region. Access to transit addresses inequities in communities, and public transportation is key to expanding opportunity for all in Missouri. In addition, transit is delivering more than $3 billion in economic impact in the state of Missouri. However, the ridership experience — especially safety and security on platforms, stations, trains and buses — must be a top priority. If the public does not have confidence in the system’s safety and security, they are less likely to use the system and support public transit. Allowing individual passengers to carry firearms on transit is not the answer to enhancing the safety and security of these systems,” added Cella.