Concealed weapons proposal returns

Petitions to put a new concealed weapons law on the ballot in two years have been approved for circulation by the Secretary of State. St. Louis resident Stephen Umscheid is behind it. He tried to circulate a petition this year, using the same language, but says he only gathered 1,700 signatures, whereas the state requirement is 73,000 to get a vote on the ballot. Umscheid says he didn’t push his petition because he was urged to support Jim Talent’s campaign for Governor instead. He hopes to have the vote ready to go by November 2002.