Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe wants to fight crime

Jonathan Shorman and Kacen Bayless, Tribune News Service

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe last week rolled out an ambitious crimefighting agenda, proposing harsher criminal penalties for some offenses, more funds to recruit and retain law enforcement officers and enhanced detection of fentanyl in schools. Missing from the call to action: guns. As Kansas City comes off a year that saw a soaring number of nonfatal shootings, the area’s Democratic lawmakers say the new Republican governor is avoiding one of the most important contributors to violence. Many agree with Kehoe’s focus on public safety, but warn a solution that excludes firearms will fail. “They have found a way to talk about almost everything except firearms,” Rep. Mark Sharp, a Kansas City Democrat, said. “That took some talent.”

The stakes are high for Kansas City. Political, civic and business leaders are especially tuned in to finding effective ways to combat crime, especially violent crime, as the region prepares for the global spotlight when it hosts World Cup matches in 2026, a weeks-long event that will draw hundreds of thousands of visitors. While homicides in Kansas City fell in 2024 after a record high the year before, nonfatal shootings rose 12%. More than 500 people were shot in the city and 147 were killed. The city also endured the mass shooting after the Chiefs Super Bowl victory rally last February that left one person dead and dozens injured. Missouri Republicans in recent years have continuously highlighted crime in Kansas City and St. Louis. Lawmakers successfully pushed voters statewide to pass a constitutional amendment allowing the General Assembly to raise the floor on how Kansas City spends on its state-controlled police department. Republicans are also seeking to place St. Louis police back under state control. Kehoe, a former lieutenant governor and state senator from Jefferson City, campaigned on tough-on-crime promises. He enjoyed the support of an array of law enforcement groups and vowed swift action if he won but offered few specifics.

The governor’s State of the State address, delivered last week, provided for the first time a detailed look at his public safety agenda. Kehoe called for enhancing an existing law enforcement training scholarship program and $10 million in new funding to aid communities with public safety equipment and training. He requested dollars for a new crime lab in the southeastern corner of the state. Kehoe also wants the General Assembly to pass what he terms a “comprehensive crime bill” that will increase penalties for violent rioting and fleeing from law enforcement in a vehicle. He urged a crackdown on reckless stunt driving and street racing, as well as increased “oversight and accountability” of St. Louis police — a euphemism for state control. Finally, Kehoe called for $4 million in funding to test wastewater in schools for the presence of fentanyl and stricter criminal penalties for fentanyl dealers. Individuals who sell fentanyl that kills a Missouri resident should face first-degree murder charges, he said.

“As I have said before, in the coming weeks, months, and years, our administration will be relentless in our pursuit to make Missouri a place where it’s easier to be a cop than a criminal,” Kehoe said during the speech. Republicans control supermajorities in the state House and Senate. If they remain united, GOP lawmakers can pass Kehoe’s public safety agenda and, if necessary, break a Democratic filibuster in the Senate. But Kansas City-area Democrats say it would be a mistake not to include guns. House Minority Leader Ashley Aune, a Kansas City Democrat, said Kehoe’s agenda placed too much emphasis on what happens after crimes occur and not enough on prevention. “All Missourians have a right to feel safe in their homes and communities and crime prevention is at the forefront for House Democrats,” Aune said at a news conference. “But as long as the governor and his party continue to refuse to do anything about gun violence, their tough-on-crime talk will never lead to action that actually reduces violent crime.”

Kehoe spokeswoman Gabby Picard said in a statement that the governor “does not agree that addressing crime means further restricting the Constitutional rights of Missourians.”

“He believes those who commit crimes with firearms should be punished, not law-abiding Missourians.”

Missouri has long had loose gun laws that lawmakers have relaxed even more in recent years. State law allows concealed weapons without a permit and individuals as young as 19 can carry them. Cities and counties are also severely restrained in their power to set their own firearms regulations. Missouri law also declares certain federal gun laws “invalid” if they don’t have a state-level equivalent. The law is currently blocked in court and has faced objections from police officers. Research suggests the changes have come with consequences. The General Assembly’s 2007 repeal of the requirement to obtain a permit to purchase a handgun led to 49 to 68 additional deaths each year in Missouri between 2008 and 2012, researchers at Johns Hopkins found in 2014.

During his campaign, Kehoe said Second Amendment rights are one of the “most fundamental” rights that American citizens enjoy. During a debate last fall, he referred to his upbringing in St. Louis, where he said gang members didn’t go to stores to buy guns. “Every time we put more restrictions on a citizen’s Second Amendment rights, we actually hurt the citizens who are trying to do this law-abiding and legally,” Kehoe said. Still, the governor has so far not called for Missouri’s gun laws to be further loosened. Some Republican lawmakers have pushed legislation to allow people with concealed carry permits to bring guns onto public transit and inside churches and other places of worship. Kehoe’s State of the State speech was silent on whether he would sign or oppose the measure if it reached his desk.

The shooting at the Chiefs victory rally last year prompted top Republicans to hit pause for the remainder of the session on gun rights legislation. House Speaker Jonathan Patterson, a Lee’s Summit Republican who was previously the majority leader, said last spring that it was “not the appropriate time” to bring the measures to the floor, even as he called them worthy of debate. At the same time, the legislature — with a limited exception — also didn’t advance any measures to curb access to firearms or give local governments the power to enact their own rules, an idea advocated by Democrats. Lawmakers did approve “Blair’s Law,” which outlaws celebratory gunfire within city limits.

Missourians appear to support at least some additional checks on access to guns. A February 2023 poll by Saint Louis University and YouGov found 79% support for requiring background checks on gun purchases and 69% support for requiring mental health background checks on gun purchasers and 60% approval for “red flag” laws, which allow courts to temporarily take away firearms from individuals who are ruled a danger to themselves or others. In an interview on Tuesday, Patterson effectively ruled out any restrictions on firearms during the 2025 session.