Kansas Gov. to sign "constitutional carry"

[T.J. Bones SASS# 75616]

Gov. Sam Brownback pledged to sign legislation Thursday allowing Kansas adults to carry concealed firearms without first obtaining a license or undergoing weapon training.

He plans to transform contents of Senate Bill 45 into state law at a Capitol news conference attended by representatives of the National Rifle Association and National Association for Gun Rights.

The legislation, referred to as "constitutional carry" by some advocates, would drop the 10-year-old training and licensing mandate for Kansans granted permission to conceal-and-carry. The state's licensing system will remain in place and the attorney general will keep issuing permits to qualified people who want to carry concealed in other states.

Rep. Steve Brunk, R-Wichita, said the new statute would align Kansas law with the constitutional right to keep and bear arms.

"Unfortunately," Brunk said, "we have become conditioned to accept licensing, fees, mandatory classes and other such restrictions. Government must trust law-abiding and responsible citizens."

Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka, said too many questions about consequences of the legislation were not satisfactorily answered by state lawmakers or gun-rights lobbyists.

"Will this bill put people in unnecessary danger?" he said. "Will our state’s business community be adversely affected by way of unneeded liability or potential higher insurance costs? And, could this bill lead to business owners being forced to ban any and all firearms, including concealed firearms currently allowed by law?"

The bill adopted by the House 85-39 and the Senate 31-8 would limit unlicensed conceal-carry in Kansas to people eligible to possess a firearm under state and federal law.

About 90,000 people have secured a Kansas permit, but the bill would allow some individuals denied a state license to carry concealed.

Sen. David Haley, D-Kansas City, said the bill would put law-abiding Kansans on equal footing with violent criminals.

"Law-abiding, legally registered gun owners, who should be able to conceal and carry, are currently being far outnumbered by illegal gun owners -- some, often, criminals -- who do conceal and carry. In our society, I prefer to favor the lawful over the lawless," Haley said.

However, Rep. Charles Smith, a Pittsburg Republican and concealed-carry permit holder, said he was a strong proponent of the Second Amendment but individuals who carry concealed need to understand laws regarding use of deadly force and to practice gun safety.

He said the legislation on Brownback's desk would endanger Kansas law enforcement officers who in the dark of night, often alone, confront armed individuals with concealed weapons.

"Without a concealed-carry permit," Smith said, "offices must treat these individuals as criminals until proven otherwise."