| House passes Conceal and Carry legislation By DENNIS SHARKEY.
Published: Friday, March 23, 2007 8:45 AM CDT
Topeka— The decision on where conceal and carry card holders can lawfully carry their weapons was taken out of local lawmakers hands on Wednesday.
The House passed HB 2528 with only 17 representatives voting no.
The bill, if passed by the Senate and signed into law by the governor, would prohibit cities and counties from establishing ordinances that regulate, restrict or prohibit the carrying of concealed weapons.
The bill also would change the way public and private employers restrict the carrying of concealed weapons on their property.
Employers can develop restrictions through personnel policies, but such restrictions would not apply to parking facilities.
Concealed weapons would not be allowed at youth sporting events that do not involve firearms.
The bill also gives more teeth to background investigations.
The bill would allow the Kansas Bureau of Investigation to obtain district court and treatment facility records to determine eligibility to purchase and possess firearms.
Eber Phelps, the House Minority Whip, D-Hays, said he has been consistent on the issue since he arrived in the legislature in 1997.
Phelps said he voted “no” then and voted “no” Wednesday for the same reasons as he did 10 years ago.
Phelps said he was not in agreement with taking control out of the hands of local governing bodies. He also said that it hasn’t been proven to him that allowing concealed weapons has any correlation with reduced crime.
“I never understood the big push for conceal gun carry,” Phelps said. “I was quoted back then that I can’t believe in this day and age that we’re considering something like that. I don’t believe it has any affect on reducing crime that people say it does.”
Last year’s conceal carry legislation was vetoed by Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, however, the House carried enough votes to override her veto.
The House had 107 “yes” votes on the bill Wednesday. The bill appears to have enough support to override another veto.
Eber Phelps, the minority Leader, must be either stupid or ignorant of the crime statistics of the 47 other states that allow citizens to defend themselves. Phelps doesn't cite even ONE report disputing the benefits of concealed carry. Instead, he relies on his idealistic utopian belief that in this day and age he does not need to allow citizens to protect themselves.
Does he think crime has been eliminated? Can he not read crime statistics? Does he promise that the police will be everywhere 100% of the time to protect us? Or does he simply not care if citizens get robbed, raped and murdered?
Does he have some fear that Kansas law abiding citizens cannot be trusted?
I don't get this article? Only 17 voted no, where's the majority opinions? I get the "feeling" that the article is slanted.  |