Missouri Bill: Gun-Banning Businesses Liable for Injuries to Disarmed Customers

As Missouri lawmakers convene for the 2017 legislative session, they will consider legislation that holds gun-banning businesses liable for injuries against concealed carry permit holders who are disarmed via the businesses’ gun-free policies.

The bill is sponsored by state Missouri Representative Mike Moon (R-Ash Grove) and “would cover employees as well as customers.” In effect, it puts the onus on the business owner, so that when he decides law-abiding customers and employees must be disarmed on premises, he also accepts full responsibility for their safety.

The Joplin Globe reported the bill this way:

Moon’s bill would hold private businesses that prohibit guns liable for the safety of anyone who is legally permitted to carry a concealed weapon but is prevented from doing so by the business and who suffers injury or other “compensable” damage in an attack in which the permit holder could theoretically have defended himself if he had been allowed to keep his weapon on him.

The bill is directed toward “private, commercial businesses.” Moon believes the legislation is necessary because an unarmed concealed carry permit holder has no “promise of success” should he or she be inside a gun-free business when an attack occurs.

Moon explained:

Kind of where this thing started was with business owners who were adamantly opposed to those who carry firearms. What would happen if a third party came on and committed a crime and there was bodily injuries sustained to the patrons? Who is liable? And as I’m talking to legal minds — attorneys particularly — apparently there’s still a lot of gray area there on who’s actually responsible. I believe that the third party is responsible but apparently there are some unanswered questions and so hopefully this bill will reveal some of those.

AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of “Bullets with AWR Hawkins,” a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.