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When the Missouri legislature passed the bill which led to Proposition B, they included ballot language which accurately described the proposition.

Opponents used a loophole and manufactured flaw in the ballot language, and sued to have the ballot language changed to make it sound more confusing, vague and negative. The argument they used was that the ballot language contained 57 words, when such language is limited by law to 50 words. In the past, words such as 'a', 'the', or 'of' have not been counted in that total. The opponents found a judge favorable to their desires, and prevailed.

Additionally, they managed to get approved confusing and misleading fiscal language added.

What follows is the 'before' and 'after'ballot language:

Before:

• "Shall state or local law enforcement agencies be authorized to issue permits to law-abiding citizens at least twenty-one years of age to carry concealed firearms outside their home for personal protection after having passed a state and federal criminal background check and having completed a firearms safety training course approved by the Missouri Department of Public Safety?"

After:

• "Shall sheriffs, or in the case of St. Louis County, the chief of police, be required to issue permits to carry concealed firearms to citizens who apply if various statutory requirements are satisfied?" Because of the discretion given to local law enforcement to verify the accuracy of applications, the costs are uncertain. Application fees are estimated to cover most costs for the first three years. Subsequently, local governments, as a whole, may incur costs from $500,000 to $1,000,000 annually, not covered by fees.

The fiscal language is flawed on two counts. Firstly, it is worded in a way that many readers will interpret to mean that many, or even all, local governments risk 1 million dollars apiece, when in fact it refers to a combined statewide total. Secondly, their estimates differed sharply from those of the fiscal analysis conducted by the legislature, which concluded no such costs.

For a more detailed history, see Kevin Jamison's fine analysis of the current state of Prop. B.

For further information, visit our website at http://www.moccw.org/ or send email to .

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