571.030. Unlawful use of weapons--exceptions--penalties.
Unlawful use of weapons--exceptions--penalties.
571.030. 1. A person commits the crime of unlawful use of weapons ifhe or she knowingly:
(1) Carries concealed upon or about his or her person a knife, afirearm, a blackjack or any other weapon readily capable of lethal use; or
(2) Sets a spring gun; or
(3) Discharges or shoots a firearm into a dwelling house, a railroadtrain, boat, aircraft, or motor vehicle as defined in section 302.010,RSMo, or any building or structure used for the assembling of people; or
(4) Exhibits, in the presence of one or more persons, any weaponreadily capable of lethal use in an angry or threatening manner; or
(5) Possesses or discharges a firearm or projectile weapon whileintoxicated; or
(6) Discharges a firearm within one hundred yards of any occupiedschoolhouse, courthouse, or church building; or
(7) Discharges or shoots a firearm at a mark, at any object, or atrandom, on, along or across a public highway or discharges or shoots afirearm into any outbuilding; or
(8) Carries a firearm or any other weapon readily capable of lethaluse into any church or place where people have assembled for worship, orinto any election precinct on any election day, or into any building ownedor occupied by any agency of the federal government, state government, orpolitical subdivision thereof; or
(9) Discharges or shoots a firearm at or from a motor vehicle, asdefined in section 301.010, RSMo, discharges or shoots a firearm at anyperson, or at any other motor vehicle, or at any building or habitablestructure, unless the person was lawfully acting in self-defense; or
(10) Carries a firearm, whether loaded or unloaded, or any otherweapon readily capable of lethal use into any school, onto any school bus,or onto the premises of any function or activity sponsored or sanctioned byschool officials or the district school board.
2. Subdivisions (1), (3), (4), (6), (7), (8), (9) and (10) ofsubsection 1 of this section shall not apply to or affect any of thefollowing:
(1) All state, county and municipal peace officers who have completedthe training required by the police officer standards and trainingcommission pursuant to sections 590.030 to 590.050, RSMo, and possessingthe duty and power of arrest for violation of the general criminal laws ofthe state or for violation of ordinances of counties or municipalities ofthe state, whether such officers are on or off duty, and whether suchofficers are within or outside of the law enforcement agency'sjurisdiction, or all qualified retired peace officers, as defined insubsection 10 of this section, and who carry the identification defined insubsection 11 of this section, or any person summoned by such officers toassist in making arrests or preserving the peace while actually engaged inassisting such officer;
(2) Wardens, superintendents and keepers of prisons, penitentiaries,jails and other institutions for the detention of persons accused orconvicted of crime;
(3) Members of the armed forces or national guard while performingtheir official duty;
(4) Those persons vested by article V, section 1 of the Constitutionof Missouri with the judicial power of the state and those persons vestedby Article III of the Constitution of the United States with the judicialpower of the United States, the members of the federal judiciary;
(5) Any person whose bona fide duty is to execute process, civil orcriminal;
(6) Any federal probation officer or federal flight deck officer asdefined under the federal flight deck officer program, 49 U.S.C. Section44921;
(7) Any state probation or parole officer, including supervisors andmembers of the board of probation and parole;
(8) Any corporate security advisor meeting the definition andfulfilling the requirements of the regulations established by the board ofpolice commissioners under section 84.340, RSMo; and
(9) Any coroner, deputy coroner, medical examiner, or assistantmedical examiner.
3. Subdivisions (1), (5), (8), and (10) of subsection 1 of thissection do not apply when the actor is transporting such weapons in anonfunctioning state or in an unloaded state when ammunition is not readilyaccessible or when such weapons are not readily accessible. Subdivision(1) of subsection 1 of this section does not apply to any person twenty-oneyears of age or older transporting a concealable firearm in the passengercompartment of a motor vehicle, so long as such concealable firearm isotherwise lawfully possessed, nor when the actor is also in possession ofan exposed firearm or projectile weapon for the lawful pursuit of game, oris in his or her dwelling unit or upon premises over which the actor haspossession, authority or control, or is traveling in a continuous journeypeaceably through this state. Subdivision (10) of subsection 1 of thissection does not apply if the firearm is otherwise lawfully possessed by aperson while traversing school premises for the purposes of transporting astudent to or from school, or possessed by an adult for the purposes offacilitation of a school-sanctioned firearm-related event.
4. Subdivisions (1), (8), and (10) of subsection 1 of this sectionshall not apply to any person who has a valid concealed carry endorsementissued pursuant to sections 571.101 to 571.121 or a valid permit orendorsement to carry concealed firearms issued by another state orpolitical subdivision of another state.
5. Subdivisions (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), and (10) ofsubsection 1 of this section shall not apply to persons who are engaged ina lawful act of defense pursuant to section 563.031, RSMo.
6. Nothing in this section shall make it unlawful for a student toactually participate in school-sanctioned gun safety courses, studentmilitary or ROTC courses, or other school-sponsored firearm-related events,provided the student does not carry a firearm or other weapon readilycapable of lethal use into any school, onto any school bus, or onto thepremises of any other function or activity sponsored or sanctioned byschool officials or the district school board.
7. Unlawful use of weapons is a class D felony unless committedpursuant to subdivision (6), (7), or (8) of subsection 1 of this section,in which cases it is a class B misdemeanor, or subdivision (5) or (10) ofsubsection 1 of this section, in which case it is a class A misdemeanor ifthe firearm is unloaded and a class D felony if the firearm is loaded, orsubdivision (9) of subsection 1 of this section, in which case it is aclass B felony, except that if the violation of subdivision (9) ofsubsection 1 of this section results in injury or death to another person,it is a class A felony.
8. Violations of subdivision (9) of subsection 1 of this sectionshall be punished as follows:
(1) For the first violation a person shall be sentenced to themaximum authorized term of imprisonment for a class B felony;
(2) For any violation by a prior offender as defined in section558.016, RSMo, a person shall be sentenced to the maximum authorized termof imprisonment for a class B felony without the possibility of parole,probation or conditional release for a term of ten years;
(3) For any violation by a persistent offender as defined in section558.016, RSMo, a person shall be sentenced to the maximum authorized termof imprisonment for a class B felony without the possibility of parole,probation, or conditional release;
(4) For any violation which results in injury or death to anotherperson, a person shall be sentenced to an authorized disposition for aclass A felony.
9. Any person knowingly aiding or abetting any other person in theviolation of subdivision (9) of subsection 1 of this section shall besubject to the same penalty as that prescribed by this section forviolations by other persons.
10. As used in this section "qualified retired peace officer" meansan individual who:
(1) Retired in good standing from service with a public agency as apeace officer, other than for reasons of mental instability;
(2) Before such retirement, was authorized by law to engage in orsupervise the prevention, detection, investigation, or prosecution of, orthe incarceration of any person for, any violation of law, and hadstatutory powers of arrest;
(3) Before such retirement, was regularly employed as a peace officerfor an aggregate of fifteen years or more, or retired from service withsuch agency, after completing any applicable probationary period of suchservice, due to a service-connected disability, as determined by suchagency;
(4) Has a nonforfeitable right to benefits under the retirement planof the agency if such a plan is available;
(5) During the most recent twelve-month period, has met, at theexpense of the individual, the standards for training and qualification foractive peace officers to carry firearms;
(6) Is not under the influence of alcohol or another intoxicating orhallucinatory drug or substance; and
(7) Is not prohibited by federal law from receiving a firearm.
11. The identification required by subdivision (1) of subsection 2 ofthis section is:
(1) A photographic identification issued by the agency from which theindividual retired from service as a peace officer that indicates that theindividual has, not less recently than one year before the date theindividual is carrying the concealed firearm, been tested or otherwisefound by the agency to meet the standards established by the agency fortraining and qualification for active peace officers to carry a firearm ofthe same type as the concealed firearm; or
(2) A photographic identification issued by the agency from which theindividual retired from service as a peace officer; and
(3) A certification issued by the state in which the individualresides that indicates that the individual has, not less recently than oneyear before the date the individual is carrying the concealed firearm, beentested or otherwise found by the state to meet the standards established bythe state for training and qualification for active peace officers to carrya firearm of the same type as the concealed firearm.
(RSMo 1939 § 4425, A.L. 1959 H.B. 43, A.L. 1981 H.B. 296, A.L. 1993 H.B. 562 merged with S.B. 250, A.L. 1995 H.B. 160, A.L. 1997 S.B. 367, A.L. 1998 S.B. 478, A.L. 2000 S.B. 944, A.L. 2003 H.B. 349, et al. merged with S.B. 5, A.L. 2007 S.B. 62 & 41)Prior revisions: 1929 § 4031; 1919 § 3277; 1909 § 4498
*Transferred 1978; formerly 562.070
CROSS REFERENCES:
Discharging a firearm or weapon at a railroad train or railmounted work equipment while committing a trespass to railroad property, class D felony, RSMo 389.653
Violation of this section may also be a hate crime, RSMo 557.035