McCaskill Forced to Clarify Gay Gun Gaffe

Under fire from a conservative gay group, Sen. Claire McCaskill has clarified the reason she voted against expanding a conceal and carry gun law this week.

McCaskill voted against the amendment, and explained her reasoning by saying, "this is a foot in the door that would require, for example, the laws in Vermont on gay marriage to be enforced in Missouri. It just kills me, these guys, that they would pound the tables about states’ rights until, situationally, they don’t want to talk about states’ rights anymore."

Jimmy LaSalvia, executive director of GOProud, which endorsed the gun amendment, said the comment was pure political calculation, according to Advocate.com.

"Claire McCaskill should be ashamed of herself for using baseless antigay scare tactics to justify her vote against the conceal carry amendment,” he said. McCaskill's Republican counterpart, Sen. Kit Bond, voted to pass the gun measure, which coincidentally would have been attached to the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act that Senator McCaskill cosponsored.

McCaskill's office issued the following statement Thursday to clarify her remarks: "In talking about my recent vote against the gun provision offered in the Senate, I wasn’t clear when I stated that my vote against that provision was because it came down to a state's rights. I was expressing my frustration in that some who argue that states shouldn’t respect the laws, certificates, or permits from other states when it’s convenient, like with gay marriage, but then argue that they should when it’s convenient on another issue, like gun rights. They can’t have it both ways," McCaskill said.

Bond & McCaskill Split on Conceal & Carry Vote

"WHAT WE SIGNED UP FOR"

Missouri's U.S. Senators split on a vote today that would have allowed gun owners to carry their weapons across state lines.

But state laws vary on how tough it is to get a permit.

Under Senate rules, the amendment needed a 60 vote majority.
It won just 58 votes -- Sen. Kit Bond voted FOR it; Sen. Claire McCaskill voted AGAINST it.

Read the entire vote list HERE (via the uber-helpful SenateFloor Twitter feed).

McCaskill said Monday that she would vote against the Thune amendment, noting that gun laws should remain a state issue.

McCaskill is quoted in Roll Call saying: "This is part of what we signed up for. You can’t make everyone happy on anything. I think that’s called being a moderate. Both ends are mad."

The Washington Post's take: "Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) and George V. Voinovich (R-Ohio) voted against the measure despite their previous support for gun-rights legislation that would gut the District's strict handgun laws."

MSU Officials Worried About Conceal & Carry on Campus

A move to allow concealed weapons on college campuses is dividing administrators and their students.

The State House is on its way to clearing a provision to allow college students to carry guns on campus, with a conceal and carry permit.

WATCH THE KY3 NEWS @ 10 REPORT HERE

MSU STATEMENT on HOUSE VOTE:
"The consensus of experts is that allowing handguns on campus is inconsistent with campus safety," said President Michael Nietzel. "We concur with that assessment. Removing the ban on concealed weapons on campus is not wise, it is not necessary, and will not promote greater safety," Nietzel said

"It can make those campuses safer because there's a possibility that a student can help assist in taking care of the issue before more people are killed or hurt," said student Nathan Starmer, a college Republican who supports the change. Starmer said the ban ignores reality, because anyone who wants a weapon, will carry one.

Emerson Against National Gun Registry

Rep. Jo Ann Emerson says she'd work to defeat legislation that would create a national registry of American gun owners, according to the Howell County News.

Democratic Congressman Bobby Rush has introduced a bill that would establish "a system of licensing for purchasers of certain firearms and for a record of sale system for those firearms, and for other purposes."

Emerson said this is surely an effort she will oppose -- and said the debate ended when the Assault Weapons Ban expired in 2004.

"In my mind, this issue was settled in 2004 when the ban expired," Emerson said in a statement. "Congress spends too much time regulating the lawful activities of law-abiding gun owners and too little time strengthening penalties against the individuals who commit gun crimes. In southern Missouri, we have responsible gun owners and sportsmen who absolutely own firearms that would fall under this ban if it were reinstated today," she added.

NRA Backs McCain, But Talks More About Obama

The National Rifle Association announced its endorsement of John McCain in Springfield today, despite differences with him on some gun show rules.

The NRA held a series of news conferences on Thursday, including in Pennsylvania, Colorado, Nevada and here to announce its endorsement of the John McCain-Sarah Palin ticket for president and vice president.

NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre says the group and McCain agree on many issues important to the gun lobby. McCain cast more than 60 votes in the Senate in support of the Second Amendment.

The NRA does not always endorse presidential candidates. It backed President George W. Bush but declined to endorse Bob Dole in the 1996 race or President George H.W. Bush in 1992.

The NRA has spent more than $2 million for ads against Barack Obama’s bid for the presidency.

You can watch a clip HERE.

MoGOP Hearts Dem Mike Carter for "Courage"

Democratic candidate for Governor Mike Carter has answered the call.

To the Republican Party, that is.

The Missouri G.O.P. recently called on Democratic candidates to announce whether they support a recent Supreme Court ruling affirming the right to bear arms.

It's not like either side takes these calls seriously. It's not like Jay Nixon is going to call Tina Hervey and say, "Yeah, mark me down for supporting the 2nd Amendment."

Yet, Missouri G.O.P. spokesperson Hervey reports that Carter did actually respond.

Yesterday, at 2:41 p.m.

"On behalf of the people of Missouri, I want to applaud Mr. Carter for displaying political courage, something that’s not been seen lately by many of his Democrat colleagues. He was the first to clarify his position on Missourians’ right to bear arms and his action should be commended,” said Hervey in a release. "In an email yesterday, Mr. Carter stated that he has been a proponent of Missourians’ right to carry concealed weapons since the mid-1990s and ‘was happy when Missouri's legislature gave Missourians conceal and carry rights.’"

"Although Mr. Carter’s were not made publicly prior to the Supreme Court ruling, we will give him the benefit of the doubt that his beliefs on this important issue are heartfelt. We also have not been able to find any public statements that would contradict what Mr. Carter stated privately to us," Hervey added.

"For many Democrat politicians it is easy to remain silent and mislead voters but showing political courage is sometimes costly and Mike Carter has chosen to take the path less travelled – we commend him and hope that other Missouri Democrats will have the courage to respond to our challenge. Unfortunately, we suspect most Democrats; particularly those like Sam Page will lie and mislead voters," Hervey said.

"A lot of politicians are trying to change their stripes on this issue and we are outraged by Sam Page’s statements because we have always found him to be staunchly anti-Second Amendment while Lt. Governor Kinder has always been a vocal supporter of our right to bear arms under the Constitution," she added.

See there, and we thought everybody was close to getting along for a second? (Sigh).

Steelman Touts 2nd Amendment, Buys Son A Gun

Missouri State Treasurer Sarah Steelman showed her support for the 2nd Amendment Wednesday by buying her 13-year old son a gun.

“Like most Missourians, I am a strong believer and defender of the Second Amendment, Steelman said. “Hunting and recreational shooting are part of the traditional Missouri values that have been passed on from generation to generation in our state, and my family cherishes these values. As Governor, I will maintain a firm stand against those who seek to oppose our Constitutional right to keep and bear arms," she added in a release.

Steelman purchased her youngest son, Michael, a rifle today for his birthday. Jason Rosenbaum has all the fixings from the event HERE.

Steelman and her family enjoy recreational target shooting and recently visited the shooting range at Springfield’s Bass Pro Shops.

A Case For Conceal Carry?

OR

"IRRESPONSIBLE

JOURNALISM?"

A story about a woman who held a burglar by gunpoint in Cedar County has been lighting up my phone and e-mail inbox. It's sparked quite the debate over the right to bear arms.

57-year-old Jane Downey earned her conceal carry permit two years ago in Springfield. Last week, she put it to use when she found a burglar in the closet of her sister's house. She used her .38-caliber pistol to keep the man in his place until authorities could arrive.

Watch it HERE.

Now, viewers are calling with questions, compliments and complaints.

"Tonight's report by David Catanese was incredibly fair and I feel does a world of good for folks out there with misconceptions about CCW holders. There are thousands of Missourians who legally carry firearms on a daily basis for protection from ever increasing violence in our communities. Most of those that do so are labeled as "gun nuts", primarily by the media. I encourage you to keep up the good work and honest reporting concerning law-abiding citizens who choose to protect themselves," wrote Blake Rosenfelder.

Another wonders if the story would have been portrayed the same if she didn't have a conceal and carry permit. Yet another questioned what would have happened if she actually shot him.

Viewer Thomas Hosmer writes that my story was "irresponsible" and a missed opportunity.

"This is a very complicated issue in itself but to have it broad stroked, as this piece was presented, was sad," Hosmer wrote in an e-mail to me. "Then the news team anchors even suggested that the people who were against this issue 'had to agree that this was the right thing to do" (Ethan Forhetz).'"

"Well, we all agree that it is best that she was safe. But it is irresponsible journalism to assume that we should all go out and purchase a gun to be safe. What about the rest of the world and guns. This could have been a chance to educate kids and the rest of this region of both sides dealing with guns. Missed opportunity!," said Hosmer.

I think Hosmer's wrong to say we encouraged anyone to go out and purchase a gun. But I also see his larger point. I think he's on base to suggest that we could have used the opportunity to frame a wider debate over guns. But I also think that's a different story.

The idea was mostly to chronicle this woman's amazing tale of handling a burglar in a rural part of Cedar County -- alone. It wasn't meant to be overtly political. But I understand that perception is reality, and I always appreciate a worthwhile suggestion. You can frame a story a dozen different ways -- but this was mostly a straight up, news piece on what happened and where.

In the end, it may be worth a follow-up to go deeper, so viewers can decide whether this law does more or less to reduce crime and keep people safe.