(Allexxandar photo / Shutterstock)
August 19, 2022
By Mark Chesnut
The Missouri attorney general is mincing no words in his frustration and anger over plans by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to “audit” concealed carry permit holder records in the Show Me State.
In a letter addressed to FBI Director Pat Wray with U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland copied, Eric Schmitt objected to a letter received by several Missouri county sheriffs saying the FBI would be conducting an audit that includes “an onsite review of your Concealed Carry Weapons Permits…”
“Let me be perfectly clear,” Schmitt wrote. “Allowing federal agents from the FBI to have access to records of Missourians who have a permit to carry a concealed weapon violates Missouri law and infringes on our Second Amendment rights.”
As Schmitt pointed out to the FBI director, Missouri law specifically prohibits sharing this confidential list with the federal government. In fact, the law states: “Information retained in the concealed carry permit system under this subsection shall not be distributed to any federal, state or private entities…”
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“The people’s elected representatives passed this law after it became known that the Obama Administration wanted to know which Missourians had firearms, supposedly to establish who was entitled to federal benefits,” Schmitt wrote. “We wanted to leave no doubt that the citizens of Missouri have a constitutional right to bear arms, and the federal government has no business poking around to find out their identities.”
Seeming to take the FBI plan for an audit personally, Schmitt wrote that his constituents in Missouri don’t want the federal government poking around in their business.
“Simply put, Missourians are hard-working, law-abiding citizens who don't need a national nanny state keeping tabs on us,” he wrote. “But more than that, over the last couple of years, we've seen story after story of incompetence and corruption at the highest levels of the FBI. Our trust in your agency is at an all-time low.”
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Schmitt concluded the letter by vowing that FBI agents will not get any cooperation in trying to “audit” concealed carry permit records in the Show Me State.
“You have lost our trust and you seem to be completely indifferent toward trying to rebuild it,” he concluded. “Instead, you announce that you will show up at the offices of our elected Missouri sheriffs in open and blatant violation of our state law and seek to find out who in Missouri holds a legal CCW permit.
“This is not going to happen. I will fight you tooth and nail with all of the resources that the people of Missouri have given me as their Attorney General.”
Interestingly, AG Schmitt is no stranger to protecting the Second Amendment rights of his constituents. Just last month he joined a 17-state coalition in submitting a complaint against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Acting Director of ATF over the ATF’s unconstitutional rulemaking that would regulate firearm parts manufacturers.
More recently, Schmitt won the Republican primary in the U.S. Senate race in Missouri, defeating former Gov. Eric Greitens. Considering his past advocacy for the right to keep and bear arms, there’s little doubt he’d make a great U.S. Senator.
About the Author Freelance writer and editor Mark Chesnut is the owner/editorial director at Red Setter Communications LLC. An avid hunter, shooter and political observer, he has been covering Second Amendment issues and politics on a near-daily basis for more than 20 years.
