Steve Pokin

SPOKIN@NEWS-LEADER.COM

Answer Man! I was sitting in Mr. Smith's Fast Lube on Sunshine Street, waiting while I was getting my oil changed. A man entered with a holstered handgun on his hip. He was getting his oil changed, too, and sat next to me. He seemed nervous and I was concerned about the gun. Is this legal in Springfield? — Joey Pulleyking, of Springfield

The short answer, Joey, is that in Missouri the man had the legal right to openly carry a firearm into the business.

The answer is nuanced. Since there's such great interest in guns in the Ozarks, I'm going to explore your question further, Joey. For example, I interviewed two Springfield men who openly carry. I'll get to them later.

Over at Mr. Smith's, I learned the owner is not a Mr. Smith. The owner goes by the name of Earl, although he is not an Earl, either.

His name is Scott Mather. When I walk into his business, he recognizes me: "Hey, Answer Man, need an oil change? Mr. Smith's Fast Lube loves your car as much as you do."

I tell him my car appreciates the love, but no thanks on the oil change.

Instead, I ask how he feels about customers bringing firearms into his business. In Missouri, you don't need a permit or firearms training to openly carry (but you do if you conceal the weapon).

First, he says, rarely does he see anyone openly carry in one of his shops.

"If people want to do that, they can do that," he says.

That's why he does not post a "No Guns" or "No Firearms" sign at his businesses.

According to state law, business owners who don't want guns on their property must post a sign at least 11 inches by 14 inches in a conspicuous place. The letters on the sign must be at least one inch in height. (Business owners cannot prohibit people from leaving their guns in their car in the parking lot.)

A business owner who prohibits firearms — and then spots a customer with one — must then ask the person to leave and return without the weapon. If the person refuses to exit, the owner can call police, and the person with the gun can be charged with trespassing, a misdemeanor.

Dan Wichmer, Springfield city attorney, says state law in large part governs what municipalities can and can't do regarding open carry and concealed carry.

In August of 2014, Missouri voters approved Amendment 5, which "established the unalienable right of citizens to keep and bear arms, ammunition and accessories associated with the normal functioning of such arms, for the purpose of defense of one’s person, family, home and property."

One of the biggest changes in 2014 was that cities no longer could totally prohibit open carry, as they could in the past. The new law stated that even in municipalities that had banned open carry — such as walking down Main Street with a gun visible — someone could do so with a concealed-carry permit. (But not, for example, in private businesses that prohibit guns.)

Springfield did not have a law that prohibited open carry, Wichmer says.

The city's main concern is that it's a public entity, not a private business, and therefore does not have the legal authority to flatly prohibit firearms from places where it doesn't want them.

State law lists locations where firearms can be banned, even if the carrier has a concealed-carry permit. Most of the places listed are operated by government entities. They include correction facilities, courthouses, places where governmental meetings are held, airports, schools, within 25 feet of a polling place on election day, child-care facilities, churches, gated amusement parks and any sports arena or stadium with a seating capacity of 5,000 or more.

According to Wichmer, the city is concerned that it might not be able to ban firearms at other public places where money is handled.

"You just don't know if people are law abiding," Wichmer says. "We are trying to see what we can do, if anything, in terms of our workplaces."

Sheriff likes concealed carry

Jim Arnott, Greene County sheriff, first wants to make something clear.

"I don't want it to come out that I am against open carry," he says.

He's not. But ... “I am a big advocate of concealed carry.

“If they open carry to defend themselves or to intervene in a situation — the first person that the bad guy is going to take care of is the guy with his gun on his hip."

Arnott says most people he knows conceal carry to maintain the element of surprise.

“The coach of a football team is not going to give up his plays to the other team," he says.

If you open carry, Arnott says, there's also a chance people will see your firearm and quickly call police.

"It does alarm some people. When they see a gun they look for a badge. And if they don’t see a badge, they often call the police.”

In addition, those with a concealed-carry permit have undergone at least some firearms training. They have also been told about the personal liability of shooting someone. None of this is required for those who open carry.

“If you make a bad decision," Arnott says, "not only can you lose your freedom, you can lose your house.”

OK with being the target

Brandon Haling is a 38-year-old Army veteran who has served in Iraq. He openly carries a Colt Detective .38-caliber revolver and says he prefers being the first person a "bad guy" might try to kill.

“I would rather be the target than some lady with children," he says. "Or some elderly gentleman who has concealed carry and gets kind of nervous and starts spraying the place with bullets. I don’t want any innocent bystanders to be shot. I don’t want kids shot. I don’t want women shot.”

He took firearms training in the military.

In part, he says, he is willing to be a target in a violent situation because he is single with no children.

Haling owns Armed Sources Gun & Pawn at 1777 S. Grant Ave. He openly carries — gun in holster — at the gas station, the grocery store and in restaurants.

As far as he knows, no one has ever called the police on him.

“Some people will look at me," he says. "I think most of the time they are just looking to see what I'm carrying. I have never been approached in a bad way.”

Haling says he has taken a concealed-carry class and doesn't think much of what was taught.

"It's one day, eight hours. I've seen people come out of concealed-carry classes who still probably should not have a firearm," he says.

It's his gut feeling that those who openly carry, like he does, are well versed in safety and know how to use the weapon.

"I am not a police officer"

In March 2015, Brian Kuzawa and his wife were in Doling Park, with their guns holstered on their hips, when a Springfield-Greene County Park Board park ranger pulled them over and told them it was illegal to openly carry a firearm in a city park.

Kuzawa's wife captured the encounter on video with her cellphone. Kuzawa repeatedly told the ranger he was within his rights. He was right, and the ranger was wrong.

I ask Kuzawa, a 41-year-old resident of Springfield, if he has encountered problems since.

No, he says.

"I actually wonder if people even notice," he says. "We have a few places that we go to, restaurants that we frequent — where nobody really seems to care."

He and his wife both openly carry a Ruger SR40 pistol in places such as Walmart and Price Cutter.

He says he has found few businesses that prohibit guns.

“But it is their right. It is their business. It’s just like I reserve the right to tell someone not to bring a gun into my house. Private property rights are paramount."

Kuzawa has a concealed-carry permit. More often than not, whether he conceals his gun depends on the weather.

If it's cold and he's wearing a winter coat, it's concealed. On a scorching Fourth of July, it's open.

The couple carries guns to protect themselves and their children, ages 4, 3 and 2 months.

“My job is not to defend store clerks but to defend myself. My job is not to save the world. I am not a police officer.”

Kuzawa says the closest he came to using his weapon was about 18 months ago.

“A guy was beating the crap out of his girlfriend in a parking lot. He was stomping on her. I was ready to draw, but he suddenly stopped and left. If I had thought her life was in imminent danger I might have done something. Instead, I called 911 and was a good witness when police arrived."

Kuzawa says he's heard many times the theory that the person who openly carries is the first target of the "bad guy."

“I have heard people recite that mantra," he says. "I just don't know if it's true. I don’t see news reports of that. I don’t see reports of gas station robberies where the bad guy shoots the person open carrying.”

Law might change again

State Rep. Eric Burlison, a Springfield Republican, last month proposed legislation that would make it easier to openly carry a firearm.

In essence, the law would make it legal to conceal carry in any location where it is legal to openly carry a firearm.

Right now, if a city bans open carry, a gun owner can openly carry if he or she has a concealed-carry permit.

Burlison's bill would remove the permit requirement. It would end what Burlison calls the "onerous burden" of having to pay for a $100 concealed-carry permit or shelling out about $50 to take a concealed-carry class.

"It is financially burdensome for a lot of people," he says. "We really do not do that with other rights. We do not charge people for the constitutional right to vote. We do not charge you a fee to report the news.

“Making you have to go through all of that burden is incredibly silly.”

The Second Amendment and a history of court decisions have established an individual's right to openly carry in the U.S. That right should exist with or without a concealed-carry permit, he says.

In addition, the distinction between open carry and concealed carry can be ambiguous and minor, he says. It can be a matter of weather and if the gun owner wears a coat.

Common sense needed

Openly carrying a firearm must be done with a dose of common sense, says Jeff Head, West Plains police chief.

In December, a West Plains resident caused a stir when he went to the city's annual Christmas parade with an AR-15 rifle over his shoulder.

James Collins told police he was recently discharged from the Army and carried the semi-automatic rifle because it was the weapon with which he was most familiar.

Many people that day saw Collins with the rifle and were concerned enough to call West Plains police. Police talked to him and he eventually went home.

"We have not heard from him since," Head says.

In the meantime, the city is considering an ordinance to ban open carry.

"We can't keep him from carrying it" without an ordinance, Head says. "You have a right to carry your firearm. And people have a right to go to the Christmas parade without being frightened."

Head says Collins was carrying the weapon in a way that was sure to draw attention.

"He had it strapped over his shoulder," Head says. "He had his hand on the stock. He was ready. He wasn’t just carrying it. He had a plan to be seen that way.

"We feel that he was trying to draw attention to himself. He sure did get the attention."

Keep those questions coming. Send them to The Answer Man at 836-1253, spokin@gannett.com, on Twitter @stevepokinNL or by mail at 651 N. Boonville, Springfield, MO 65806.