New Kansas bill allows unrestricted carrying of firearms

http://www.kansascity.com/news/government-politics/article17232419.html

Kansas becomes the sixth state in the US to remove permit requirements, thus allowing residents to legally carry handguns without licensing. Other states with similar measures already on the books are Alaska, Arizona, Vermont, Arkansas, and Wyoming while New Hampshire, Idaho, Texas, and Utah are going through the steps to follow suit.

“That’s a major responsibility to carry a gun, whether it’s concealed or not. And it’s scary,” Kansas Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeau said. “I predict from the legislation that — and it’s going to go quick, it’s going to be July 1 — we’re going to see some accidents, possibly deaths.”

“We’re saying that if you want to do that in this state, then you don’t have to get the permission slip from the government,” Gov. Sam Brownback said. “It is a constitutional right, and we’re removing a barrier to that right.”

Senator Goudeau is right that it is a major responsibility to carry a gun and she may be right that accidents will happen. The same can be said with driving a vehicle or smoking. Car accidents happen everyday and people die in house fires from improperly extinguished tobacco products. Those are the chances people take everyday, but fear is not an acceptable basis to conduct law, especially laws that restrict fundamental rights as Gov Brownback says.

I support the new law. If a person is able to pass background checks, that's good enough reason to allow them to carry a gun.

Good job Kansas, tho I still have no reason to go to see your corn and wheat fields. Boring.

If this is some form of population control, Kansas is the last place that needs it. :P It's just corn and wheat for miles.

I'm all for letting everyone carry weapons as long as we make tattooing everyone their IQ on their forehead a law.

I don't know about anyone else but If I were to walk into a grocery store or resturant and saw several people with shotguns or AR-15 on them, my first thought would be "Yeah, I'll go elsewhere to use my money." and then " Is that place being robbed? I should call the cops"

@Treflis: If I saw a person with any type of gun I'd move to a different neighborhood =P

I know I feel safer that I can have a gun, that will protect me from other people with guns and I can also use my gun to protect those people...with guns
Safety <3

@chaoscougar1: Gunception!

Kansas LOL

I feel bad for those folks who re-elected Brownback.

Does Brownback have a brown back?

inb4 ur racist

Oh I wouldn't go that far. If it's see through and bright green plastic gun like below, I'd probably not mind.

of course it does

@Treflis: Touché =P

Back to the old West huh.

But anyways, I'm a proud gun ownership with a license permit and I carry my pistol whatever I go so I should be good to go.

Last time I checked you needed a drivers license to legally drive a car...

Wait...where does Gerg live?

That's the next issue they'll adresse. Soon it'll be that aslong as you got car keys then you can drive.

True but driving a car isn't a constitutional right. Not to say I fully agree with the law but I understand where they are coming from and it's hard to fault them. It's more complicated than that of course, because the constitutional right was created before we had nuclear weapons, and obviously citizens are not allowed to own those "arms". So regulation and a line needs to be drawn somewhere...whether or not this Kansas law goes too far/not far enough I think is for the citizens of that state to decide.

What does driving have to do with the price of tea in China?

Getting permission from the government to exercise your RIGHT is nonsense.

Here's the thing: when a person buys a car, they are and must be in constant control of it at all times. When someone carries a gun, it's basically something they've got on their person in case they need it.

It's sort of like a condom: you're not expecting to use it when you go out on Friday night, but you've got one, maybe a backup too if you want to be extra safe.

If a person fails the federal background check, then he's not allowed to buy a gun. The only way people who shouldn't have a gun get one is one of two ways: they buy one illegally from shady, federally licensed dealers, or they steal them. Also, those types could manufacture their own guns, but that's quite rare.

The laws are already very effective from keeping guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally handicapped, but when you have straw purchasers out there willing to break the law to make money selling a gun they bought for around a $250 gun for $1000 to ex-con John Dillinger, it's tough to stop.

I'm fairly certain one ought to be in constant control of their firearm to ensure not only their own but also the safety of others.

I agree, but there's a plethora of information in the manuals and pamphlets that come with the gun and even more on the internet. Back in the 80's and 90's there was a need for safety courses, but people don't need that anymore now that youtube exists.

well there was a comparison to driving accidents in the OP

But the government is the authority giving you that right in the first place.

No the government is not giving us the authority. That right is granted to citizens by the Constitution. The Government and Constitution are not one in the same.

...I sincerely hope you're joking.

This comment surprised me so much that I had to log back into an account I don't even use just to put my two cents in.

You know what? It's not so much the fact that a ludicrous law is being passed that ruffles my feathers. Hell, I'm all for concealed carry, I lived in a boatload of places that were incredibly unsafe and I didn't feel an ounce of security unless my father had a weapon in the house that could stop someone in their tracks with a warning shot. Want to know the worst place I EVER lived in that made me feel like I couldn't turn a corner without losing my life?

JUNCTION. CITY. KANSAS.

Oh my GOD I can't believe Kansas of all places is going to allow a non-permitted conceal carry law. I just might vomit. One of my best friends was the victim of a home invasion where two men walked right into their home and not only beat the family, but stole all their crap. Hell, she even missed school for a few days because they had feared for their lives. The two men who did it had no previous record. Could you imagine, them falling under the new law and able to get a weapon without a permit nor the classes for safety? Those morons would have put bullets in my best friend and her family faster than a chicken running with their head cut off, and those Kansas chickens are crazy, I've seen them. I LIVED there.

But you know what, that's fine. It's cool. Nixing the permit and the classes is fine. Go ahead, lets get on youtube and watch a video about how to handle a firearm, and then lets see someone go and test it out. Lets go ahead and have the rookie working the meat slicer watch a little youtube to learn how to handle the equipment properly without slicing their fingers off (which, by the way, I still managed to slice the tip of my pointer off after hours of hands on training--I'm not exempt to human error even WITH hands on work) or maybe check out youtube to learn how to properly dispose of an acidic chemical that could eat through your skin. Yeah, youtube has all the answers now doesn't it?

Don't you think for maybe one moment that your statement is just a little blinded? Do you honestly feel that it is truly okay to have a non-permit weapon with no safety course to speak of-on somebody who's only education is a scrap of paper with some directions and a few youtube videos? Youtube isn't going to teach a person hands on education with a dangerous piece of equipment. The Christmas Story phrase "You'll shoot your eye out kid" comes to mind--except it won't be their eye, it'll probably be someone elses, since they didn't take target practice lessons either to learn how to aim properly.

wut

Really?

http://www.city-data.com/crime/crime-Junction-City-Kansas.html

Kinda strange to be so scared of a place that has a fairly low crime rate. 12 murders in the past 10 years...murder rate is mildly higher per-capita then most small towns but even then is significantly less than half the rate of a major city. Sounds like your fear is more emotional than anything. If you were that terrified living there I'd hate to see in you any major city.

Brownback is trying to keep his approval rating up as the budget cuts and consumption tax increases hit.

Really, it's not a bad idea. In Kansas, I can't imagine that this idea is controversial, and with their population I'm betting the repercussions will be light.

Have you lived there? Did you walk to school there everyday? You're looking at reported crimes my friend. Do you know how many rapes slide on by from under the law enforcement's noses because of how mangled that place is? I lived there between 2000-2005 which from that link seems to be their peak crime rate, so my experiences there seemed to be biased based on the lack of crime prevention. However I highly doubt there was 1 murder recorded between those years because I crystal-clear remember at least four within that period, two of which were acquaintances through friends.

Just because there's a rate posted on a website doesn't mean that living there was safe. The bloods and the crypts ran the streets during my time there to the point bandannas were banned at school and then a KKK church just had to roll in and plot themselves smack in the middle of the most african-american/non-Caucasian centralized school system so that was on top of everything else. I remember sitting in poetry class and our teacher skipping out on the lesson so that we could all sit down together and just rant, talk, and express our feelings about that development. Now I have no clue if they ended up erecting their "church" but I'll never forget that class.

You know how a place can be deemed safe by percentage but its inner-city problems make it the opposite? That's what JC was. It's kind of like a college infomercial trying to push their college as the best one to attend but once you get inside and get scheduled the classes are crap and the students are all just as bad as highschool with their drama.

When the BTK killer (bind, torture, kill) had reared his ugly head in 2005 (don't get me started on him, just google him) the entire summer was pretty much spent in-doors until he got caught.

I suppose I lived in JC during its bad years, but still. That wasn't the point of my post--my point was youtubing gun safety and that being good enough was the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

I gotta split, gotta work on a lesson before bed since I won't be home when it's due. Toodles!

Well I'm sorry to hear that your friend was burglarized, but one act by a duo does not constitute the whole society of Kansas and you make it sound like every person is a buffoon that as soon as they touch a potentially dangerous object will cause an apocalyptic event. Whether those two guys had clean records or not would not have made a difference in what they did. Criminals who are armed will carry a gun wherever they intend to cause crimes, law abiding people will follow the law.

Prior to the new law, it was already legal to carry a firearm openly in the state without a permit, thus no classes were required. So why is it so different that a person must have taken instruction courses for a concealed carry permit, but nothing for open carry? IMO open carry is more dangerous because the gun is openly displayed and the person has to be much more aware of his/her surroundings.

Comparing meat slicers to guns is foolish. There's a difference between learning to be safe with a firearm and learning to shoot. Being safe with a gun requires nothing more than a list of guidelines, learning to shoot well does require practice, but that practice doesn't require an instructor. You yourself with plenty of experience still wasn't enough to stop from injuring yourself, but when you're using those tools everyday, the chances of something happening increase.

I'd say tho, that the chances of you lopping off another finger are a lot greater than a 19 year old girl accidentally shooting herself or somebody else now that this law is passed.

At the end of the day, if someone is proficient with firearms, they shouldn't be hassled with training courses, nor should an inexperienced person. As Gov. Brownback said, he wanted people who needed training to seek it out, he just doesn't want to force people into it. He's giving the power to the individual, where it rightly belongs.

My suggestion of youtube is just a means for someone to start learning. If after getting informed online isn't enough for them to feel that they're being safe, then it's their CHOICE to seek extra assistance from instructors, which will cost them money.

Finally, I'm glad I helped u dust off the old alt account.

Rights do not come from government. Rights are self evident.

So, how will police arrest people?!.. Yeah, I killed somebody and robbed a bank, you can't arrest me!! I got all kinds of guns in my house. Police come in my my house, I will kill them.. what kind of a world we live in here??!!

You bring up good points that I'll admit but I'm solid in my opinion that not having a safety course doesn't sound right. It's so much more than just learning to point and shoot, it's learning how to care for the gun proper and how to handle it wisely too. The only experience I can base this on is when I had to take the hunters safety course when I got my hunting license in Kansas, we were taught how to use the weapon properly and fire properly, disarm it, lock it, aim it, and take care of it. This stuff can be seen on youtube but if you at home do something wrong and heaven forbid shoot yourself? Do you realize how much that scares me and I don't even know you? You could be someone who is comfortable with a firearm and knows their stuff, but what if you were someone who had no clue, wants to get a weapon for home protection because now you can, but doesn't want to take a learning course because it's too much out of the way? Youtube simply doesn't contend with hands on learning experience.

With the point you're bringing up, those previously experienced with firearms should be allowed to simply buy their weapon and go about their day in peace without having to take the time to sign up for a one day class that honestly just costs around $100 (because theoretically you've already spent about $500 for a decent handgun so clearly money isn't TOO big of an issue, or have saved up for all the appropriate needs, the weapon, the class) but for someone who's never had a hand gun previously, I honestly feel a safety course needs to be required in order to carry that weapon. The last thing we need is someone shooting themselves in the foot. I just can't bring myself to see NOT having some kind of safety course being a good idea with a firearm, but right now I am in a state who has an incredibly strict safety act with firearms because of the crime rate so my view is biased.

Still, I was very irked by the youtube statement, I stand by that. Youtube does not replace firearm safety courses and never will. Hands on training should be a must for first time buyers, always.

and now it's easier for criminals to get guns.

Hey yo, those are your opinions and I've no problem you think it's best to mandate a safety course. As I've said, fear shouldn't dictate law.

I agree that people should know everything about a gun; safety, loading, unloading, shooting, disassembly, cleaning, maintenance, troubleshooting, repairing, etc., but that's my opinion. If someone wants to be foolish and not learn to be safe with a gun, then someday they may face the consequences of that choice. The thing is that day may never come.

Thanks for being civil in this discussion.

how so?

That's pretty cool. I hope every state does that.

Just because you were so fearful also doesn't mean it was as bad as you think. The reality is, and based on statistical fact, that city actually had a low/average crime rate and acting as if you were terrified to even go outside is pretty unreasonable. The actual chances of you being murdered was extremely low comparable to anywhere else in the country and much much lower than many actual high crime areas.

It's your right to feel that way, however, it's also my right to point out the extent of your fear isn't based on the actual level of danger you faced.

Regarding gun safety and youtube, there's actually some really fantastic and in depth videos covering everything from gun safety, gun related laws, and anything else. If people can take 4 year college classes online and earn a masters degree, why couldn't they learn about how to safely operate a gun? It's not really that complicated TBH...

What in the world did you type?

That scares me

Ignorance of the law and Constitution is what frightens me.

Well someone's going to be gunzerking soon baby!!

I scare you?