As he gears up for next week's veto session, Governor Jay Nixon is maintaining his stance on two controversial bills — a gun law that would loosen concealed carry regulations and a voter ID law.
Both bills were passed with veto-proof majorities in both chambers, and the Republican legislature is expected to try and override the vetoes.
Still, Nixon is doubling down on his position.
With regards to legislation that would require photo identification to vote in Missouri, he says Republicans are trying to bring attention to what he calls "a nonexistent problem."
"Our goal should be to try to get as many people to vote as possible and make it as easy to vote as possible,” Nixon told Steve Kraske on KCUR's Up To Date.
He says the bill unfairly targets minority, elderly and poor voters.
“And the way that they passed the bill it says if you show up and you don’t have exactly what that state-issued ID is, that you've got to stand in line and have your picture taken. It’s just kind of demeaning for voters,” Nixon said.
Supporters of the bill say it would protect against voter fraud and preserve the sanctity of the vote. Nixon doesn't buy that logic, saying everyone in the Missouri legislature was elected under the current system, without any major issues.
"We’ve been going at this state since 1821. The sanctimony and this about the sanctity, is somewhat difficult to swallow," he said.
Nixon also rallied against a gun law that would have eased regulations on anyone trying to receive or renew concealed carry privileges.
He said he's been a longtime proponent of the 2nd Amendment and has supported concealed carry laws in the past.
“That being said, this is clearly [a bill] that goes way too far. Taking away all training for CCW, meaning that you're going to have handguns with no training even though you have a concealed permit,” he said.
He also said the bill would rob local sheriffs of the right to deny a concealed carry permit to someone deemed a threat to the community.
Some Republican lawmakers have said allowing more people to carry concealed weapons would actually make communities safer.
Missouri's veto session begins at noon on September 14.
Lisa Rodriguez is a reporter at KCUR. Connect with her on Twitter @larodrig.
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