Baba Louie
Member
- Joined
- Dec 26, 2002
- Messages
- 3,831
From Sundays Kansas City Star 9-28-03
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/6878107.htm
Kansas supporters plan to resurrect gun bill
By JOHN A. DVORAK and JOHN L. PETTERSON
The Kansas City Star
Only a few years ago, the issue of concealed guns for Kansas looked like a goner, consigned to the attic of politics.
Not anymore. Not with gun owners in neighboring Missouri preparing to fill out applications for permits allowing them to carry hidden weapons for protection.
Supporters of concealed guns will ask the Kansas Legislature to consider a gun bill next year, said Phil Journey, president of the Kansas State Rifle Association. Supporters, he said, have drawn strength from recent action in Missouri.
“I think it will help me tremendously with our grass-roots efforts,†said Journey, a Wichita resident.
In 1997 lawmakers in Topeka passed a concealed-gun bill. Then-Gov. Bill Graves killed the measure with a veto. Nothing much happened afterward.
Last year, as gun restrictions eased in state after state and some people worried about personal safety after terrorist attacks, the issue emerged from slumber.
This year the Missouri General Assembly enacted a concealed-gun law over the veto of Gov. Bob Holden.
Next year the Kansas Legislature could see its own debate.
“There's more legislative support for conceal-carry, and more constituent support; the president favors it, and now with Missouri, that puts a lot of pressure on,†said Kansas Sen. Tim Huelskamp of Fowler, a leading supporter of the issue.
As governor of Texas, President Bush had signed a concealed-gun proposal into law.
In Kansas much depends on the veto pen of Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.
Sebelius has not revealed whether she would veto a concealed-gun bill.
“I supported the bill that would have allowed retired law enforcement officers to carry a weapon, but nothing beyond that,†Sebelius said recently in a hallway interview in the Capitol. “But I don't know what will be introduced or what they will do with it.â€
Some lawmakers think she could be swayed. Others figure she would veto a bill.
In a debate before her November 2002 election, Sebelius offered one hint.
“I don't support the notion that we'll all be safer if everyone carries arms,†she said.
In the past there has been considerable opposition to concealed guns in Kansas. Polls taken in the 1990s showed that a majority of state residents then did not favor carrying concealed weapons.
When the measure passed the Legislature in 1997, the House approved it overwhelmingly but the Senate only narrowly.
Since then the conservative wing of the Republican Party has increased its influence in the Legislature. Advocates of a gun bill think it would carry in both the House and the Senate next year.
But by how big a margin? It would take a two-thirds majority in each house to override a veto. Could Sebelius, like Graves, kill the bill?
Political temperatures will run high in 2004. Every seat in the Kansas House and Senate will be on the election ballot.
Republicans control the two chambers by substantial margins, although they do not have enough members in the House to override a veto.
Sebelius, a Democrat, does not face re-election until 2006. Yet it would not be surprising if Republicans sought to test her next year on a divisive issue like guns. They could try to force her into a decision that might cause her trouble on the campaign trail.
That is what has happened to the governor of Missouri.
Yet, when Sebelius ran last year, she was hardly known as a friend of the National Rifle Association. Her Republican opponent was, and she prevailed.
“I hope she would approach it with an open mind,†said Lenexa antique gun dealer Jim Supica, a member of the National Rifle Association's board of directors. “I think it's very important to the vast majority of NRA members.â€
In both Kansas and Missouri, the NRA and its allies wield plenty of clout. Even a longtime opponent of concealed guns, Kansas Sen. David Adkins of Leawood, predicts the issue will return to the forefront.
“They're coming,†he said of concealed guns. “Kansas is obviously in the crosshairs on this.â€
Eventually, he said, backers of concealed guns in Kansas will win passage of a bill.
To reach John A. Dvorak,
who covers Kansas, call
(816) 234-7743 or send e-mail
to [email protected].
To reach John L. Petterson,
who covers Kansas government
and politics, call 1-(785) 354-1388 or send e-mail to
[email protected].
Never give up, Never surrender.
Took MO 13 years.
Adios
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/6878107.htm
Kansas supporters plan to resurrect gun bill
By JOHN A. DVORAK and JOHN L. PETTERSON
The Kansas City Star
Only a few years ago, the issue of concealed guns for Kansas looked like a goner, consigned to the attic of politics.
Not anymore. Not with gun owners in neighboring Missouri preparing to fill out applications for permits allowing them to carry hidden weapons for protection.
Supporters of concealed guns will ask the Kansas Legislature to consider a gun bill next year, said Phil Journey, president of the Kansas State Rifle Association. Supporters, he said, have drawn strength from recent action in Missouri.
“I think it will help me tremendously with our grass-roots efforts,†said Journey, a Wichita resident.
In 1997 lawmakers in Topeka passed a concealed-gun bill. Then-Gov. Bill Graves killed the measure with a veto. Nothing much happened afterward.
Last year, as gun restrictions eased in state after state and some people worried about personal safety after terrorist attacks, the issue emerged from slumber.
This year the Missouri General Assembly enacted a concealed-gun law over the veto of Gov. Bob Holden.
Next year the Kansas Legislature could see its own debate.
“There's more legislative support for conceal-carry, and more constituent support; the president favors it, and now with Missouri, that puts a lot of pressure on,†said Kansas Sen. Tim Huelskamp of Fowler, a leading supporter of the issue.
As governor of Texas, President Bush had signed a concealed-gun proposal into law.
In Kansas much depends on the veto pen of Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.
Sebelius has not revealed whether she would veto a concealed-gun bill.
“I supported the bill that would have allowed retired law enforcement officers to carry a weapon, but nothing beyond that,†Sebelius said recently in a hallway interview in the Capitol. “But I don't know what will be introduced or what they will do with it.â€
Some lawmakers think she could be swayed. Others figure she would veto a bill.
In a debate before her November 2002 election, Sebelius offered one hint.
“I don't support the notion that we'll all be safer if everyone carries arms,†she said.
In the past there has been considerable opposition to concealed guns in Kansas. Polls taken in the 1990s showed that a majority of state residents then did not favor carrying concealed weapons.
When the measure passed the Legislature in 1997, the House approved it overwhelmingly but the Senate only narrowly.
Since then the conservative wing of the Republican Party has increased its influence in the Legislature. Advocates of a gun bill think it would carry in both the House and the Senate next year.
But by how big a margin? It would take a two-thirds majority in each house to override a veto. Could Sebelius, like Graves, kill the bill?
Political temperatures will run high in 2004. Every seat in the Kansas House and Senate will be on the election ballot.
Republicans control the two chambers by substantial margins, although they do not have enough members in the House to override a veto.
Sebelius, a Democrat, does not face re-election until 2006. Yet it would not be surprising if Republicans sought to test her next year on a divisive issue like guns. They could try to force her into a decision that might cause her trouble on the campaign trail.
That is what has happened to the governor of Missouri.
Yet, when Sebelius ran last year, she was hardly known as a friend of the National Rifle Association. Her Republican opponent was, and she prevailed.
“I hope she would approach it with an open mind,†said Lenexa antique gun dealer Jim Supica, a member of the National Rifle Association's board of directors. “I think it's very important to the vast majority of NRA members.â€
In both Kansas and Missouri, the NRA and its allies wield plenty of clout. Even a longtime opponent of concealed guns, Kansas Sen. David Adkins of Leawood, predicts the issue will return to the forefront.
“They're coming,†he said of concealed guns. “Kansas is obviously in the crosshairs on this.â€
Eventually, he said, backers of concealed guns in Kansas will win passage of a bill.
To reach John A. Dvorak,
who covers Kansas, call
(816) 234-7743 or send e-mail
to [email protected].
To reach John L. Petterson,
who covers Kansas government
and politics, call 1-(785) 354-1388 or send e-mail to
[email protected].
Never give up, Never surrender.
Took MO 13 years.
Adios