KANSAS CITY — In the wake of Wednesday's shooting in Kansas City that killed one and injured 22 others after the Super Bowl parade, Missouri is one of the highest states for gun deaths. So what are Missouri's gun laws?

What You Need To Know

  • Open carry without a permit is allowed under Missouri law, however, cities such as Kansas City require people to have permits. Concealed carry permit holders must be at least 19 years old

  • There is no background check required to purchase a firearm and there is no ban on assault weapons

  • Missouri had the 10th highest rate in gun deaths nationwide in 2021, according to the Giffords Law Center

  • The state is also one with the highest rates of gun ownership, with almost 50% of adults in Missouri owning firearms, according to a 2020 study by RAND

Open carry without a permit is allowed under Missouri law, however, cities such as Kansas City require people to have permits. Concealed carry permit holders must be at least 19 years old.

There is no background check required to purchase a firearm and there is no ban on assault weapons. 

Additionally, there are no restrictions on gun ownership for those who have been convicted of violent crimes and firearms are not required to be locked up to prevent access to children. 

Kansas City murders reached a record high last year with 182 killings, most of which involved guns. That number is 12 more than in 2022 and three more than the previous all-time high of 179 killings in 2020.

Kansas City also was among nine cities part of an effort by the U.S. Justice Department to crack down on violent crime in 2020.

Mayor Quinton Lucas has been calling for new laws, such as mandating universal background checks, to reduce gun violence.

Missouri had the 10th highest rate in gun deaths nationwide in 2021, according to the Giffords Law Center.

The state is also one with the highest rates of gun ownership, with almost 50% of adults in Missouri owning firearms, according to a 2020 study by RAND. 

Missouri also has supplied guns used in crime to other states at a higher rate than the national average, and exports more crime guns than it imports. 

In 2019, Missouri passed the Second Amendment Preservation Act, which made federal gun regulations illegal statewide and prohibited police from enforcing federal gun laws, imposing a $50,000 fine to officers who knowingly enforced laws that didn’t match with state restrictions. 

The law is still in limbo and tied up in court after the supreme court put the law on hold last October. 

In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that people have a right to carry firearms in public for self-defense. A ruling dating back to 2010 established a nationwide right to keep guns at home for self-defense.

President Joe Biden issued a statement after Wednesday’s shooting, saying the incident should “shock us” into acting on gun laws. 

“What are we waiting for? What else do we need to see? How many more families need to be torn apart?” Biden said. "We know what we have to do. We just need the courage to do it."