Kansas Approves Concealed Carry
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Philadelphia, PA (PP National) March 24, 2006. The Kanasas legislature overrode the governor's veto, becoming the 47th state with a concealed-firearm law, and the 39th "shall issue" state, where law-abiding citizens are rewarded by not having to prove they have "sufficient need" to carry a weapon. This leaves only Nebraska, Wisconsin and Illinois as having no law permitting concealed carry at all, and eight which require citizens to convince authorities they are worthy of the privilege.
The case in Kansas was strikingly similar to Wisconsin, in that the Governor decided to place herself in the path of the decision, vetoing the bill the first time it passed because of typical misapprehensions about law-abiding firearm owners. Where Kansas diverges from Wisconsin is that the legislature stepped up to the challenge and overrode the veto, an action the Pink Pistols heartily applauds. The Governor, predictibly, is not as pleased.
"I'm disappointed," said Governor Kathleen Sebelius. "I listened to law enforcement officers and the association of chief of police to feel to feel very strongly that this ability to have hidden weapons in our streets, in our parks and in our playgrounds makes Kansans less safe."
"Hidden weapons" is, of course, anti-rights code for a firearm concealed from view, as if it were something shameful, something sneaky. And the insinuation is that lawful firearm owners are just as dangerous as criminals who use guns in the furthering of their crimes, which is patently false. Criminals with "hidden" guns are decidedly dangerous. Lawful citizens with concealed weapons make cities and states safer, and the numbers prove it.
Time will tell. Every time a state has passed a similar law, the anti-rights alarmists scream that "there will be blood in the streets," and that it'll be "just like the Wild West," but after a while, nothing happens. There are no shootouts over parking spaces. There are no wild, crazy sprees of permit holders going mad and shooting up the town. There are no rivers of blood. Instead, the crime rate drops as the percentage of citizens with permits rises.
Citizens in Kansas may start applying for their permits at the County Sherrif's office starting July 1. The law goes into effect January 1, 2007, but permits may not arrive until after that. There is a fingerprinting requirement, and a training requirement. Only Kansas residents may apply, and must apply in the county in which they have lived for at least 6 months.
We eagerly await when the first GLBT Kansans step forward to start the first Kansas Pink Pistols chapter as a result of the passage of this new law. Anyone interested in starting a chapter in Kansas should contact Pink Pistols National for more information at media@pinkpistols.org or info@pinkpistols.org.
The Pink Pistols is the largest national organization for the self-defense of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered persons with legally-owned firearms, and has chapters in both the United States and Canada.
CONTACT INFORMATION
National Media Spokesperson
Gwendolyn S. Patton
Pink Pistols
media@pinkpistols.org
267-386-8907
The full text of the Kansas bill can be read at http://www.kslegislature.org/bills/2006/418.pdf
(PDF link warning)
Philadelphia, PA (PP National) March 24, 2006. The Kanasas legislature overrode the governor's veto, becoming the 47th state with a concealed-firearm law, and the 39th "shall issue" state, where law-abiding citizens are rewarded by not having to prove they have "sufficient need" to carry a weapon. This leaves only Nebraska, Wisconsin and Illinois as having no law permitting concealed carry at all, and eight which require citizens to convince authorities they are worthy of the privilege.
The case in Kansas was strikingly similar to Wisconsin, in that the Governor decided to place herself in the path of the decision, vetoing the bill the first time it passed because of typical misapprehensions about law-abiding firearm owners. Where Kansas diverges from Wisconsin is that the legislature stepped up to the challenge and overrode the veto, an action the Pink Pistols heartily applauds. The Governor, predictibly, is not as pleased.
"I'm disappointed," said Governor Kathleen Sebelius. "I listened to law enforcement officers and the association of chief of police to feel to feel very strongly that this ability to have hidden weapons in our streets, in our parks and in our playgrounds makes Kansans less safe."
"Hidden weapons" is, of course, anti-rights code for a firearm concealed from view, as if it were something shameful, something sneaky. And the insinuation is that lawful firearm owners are just as dangerous as criminals who use guns in the furthering of their crimes, which is patently false. Criminals with "hidden" guns are decidedly dangerous. Lawful citizens with concealed weapons make cities and states safer, and the numbers prove it.
Time will tell. Every time a state has passed a similar law, the anti-rights alarmists scream that "there will be blood in the streets," and that it'll be "just like the Wild West," but after a while, nothing happens. There are no shootouts over parking spaces. There are no wild, crazy sprees of permit holders going mad and shooting up the town. There are no rivers of blood. Instead, the crime rate drops as the percentage of citizens with permits rises.
Citizens in Kansas may start applying for their permits at the County Sherrif's office starting July 1. The law goes into effect January 1, 2007, but permits may not arrive until after that. There is a fingerprinting requirement, and a training requirement. Only Kansas residents may apply, and must apply in the county in which they have lived for at least 6 months.
We eagerly await when the first GLBT Kansans step forward to start the first Kansas Pink Pistols chapter as a result of the passage of this new law. Anyone interested in starting a chapter in Kansas should contact Pink Pistols National for more information at media@pinkpistols.org or info@pinkpistols.org.
The Pink Pistols is the largest national organization for the self-defense of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered persons with legally-owned firearms, and has chapters in both the United States and Canada.
CONTACT INFORMATION
National Media Spokesperson
Gwendolyn S. Patton
Pink Pistols
media@pinkpistols.org
267-386-8907
The full text of the Kansas bill can be read at http://www.kslegislature.org/bills/2006/418.pdf
(PDF link warning)
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