Background
Anthony Hayes applied to the Saint Louis County Police Department for a concealed carry permit in March 2025. The Department denied the application after a background check identified two Missouri felony guilty pleas, from 1994 and 2000, and a 2005 federal felony conviction. Missouri law disqualifies an applicant who has pleaded guilty to or been convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment.
Hayes challenged the Department’s decision in the Circuit Court of Saint Louis County. A small-claims judge initially denied his appeal and found that the Department had just cause for its decision. Hayes then applied for a trial de novo. Following a bench trial, at which Hayes admitted having at least two felony convictions, the circuit court again upheld the permit denial. Hayes appealed that judgment.
The Court’s Holding
The Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed. It held that substantial evidence supported the circuit court’s judgment because the undisputed record and Hayes’s own testimony established that he had pleaded guilty to or been convicted of felonies punishable by more than one year of imprisonment. Section 571.101.2(3) therefore made him ineligible for a concealed carry permit.
The court also rejected Hayes’s federal constitutional arguments. It held that the Department did not have to present a historical analogue under New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen because restrictions on firearm possession by felons are presumptively lawful. It further concluded that the Department was not required to prove that Hayes fell outside “the people” protected by the Second Amendment, reasoning that individuals with felony convictions are not considered law-abiding citizens for purposes of the authorities it applied.
Finally, the court held that the permit denial did not violate Article I, Section 23 of the Missouri Constitution. Missouri precedent permits firearm restrictions applicable to both violent and nonviolent felons. The court also denied as moot Hayes’s motion to strike portions of the Department’s appendix and brief because it did not need the challenged material to decide the appeal.
Key Takeaways
- A Missouri concealed carry applicant is ineligible under section 571.101.2(3) after pleading guilty to or being convicted of a state or federal felony punishable by more than one year of imprisonment.
- The court treated the felony-based permit restriction as presumptively lawful and held that the Department did not need to produce a historical analogue under Bruen.
- Missouri’s constitutional right to bear arms does not prevent firearm restrictions applicable to either violent or nonviolent felons.
Why It Matters
The decision reinforces Missouri precedent that felony guilty pleas and convictions can disqualify an applicant from receiving a concealed carry permit, including when the relevant criminal disposition predates the permit statute. It also applies post-Bruen authority to reject the argument that the government must separately establish a historical analogue before enforcing a felony-based permit restriction.