HomeKansas Legislaturestory

Governor signs bill sought by gun rights advocates
Saturday, April 16, 2005
Gun rights advocates scored a victory when Gov. Kathleen Sebelius made it easier for people to transport firearms in Kansas without fear of being arrested.

Governor hasn't decided on gun legislation
Saturday, April 9, 2005
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius hasn't decided whether she'll sign a bill sought by gun rights advocates to decrease local government regulation of firearms.

Statehouse briefs
Saturday, April 9, 2005
• Sebelius not warm to banning gay adoption
• Governor hasn't decided on gun legislation

House passes bill setting firearm transport
Saturday, April 2, 2005
Local governments could no longer prosecute people for transporting unloaded firearms in a closed container under legislation sent to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

Hot topics may re-emerge in 2005
Saturday, January 8, 2005
Guns, gays and gambling -- three hot-button topics of Kansas politics -- promise to have prominent roles in the 2005 legislative session that starts Monday.

Foundation handing out gun locks
Wednesday, April 21, 2004
(Web Posted Wednesday at 1:50 p.m.) Law enforcement agencies across Kansas plan to distribute more than 200,000 gun locks as part of the National Shooting Sports Foundation's Project ChildSafe campaign.

Concealed weapons bill shot down
Saturday, April 17, 2004
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius fulfilled a promise Friday to veto a bill allowing Kansans to carry concealed handguns, saying the measure would have placed law enforcement officers in an "untenable position." Supporters of the law did not expect to try to override the veto but said they were looking to use the issue in this fall's elections.

Sebelius vetoes concealed carry bill
Friday, April 16, 2004
(Web Posted Friday at 11:29 a.m.) Gov. Kathleen Sebelius fulfilled a promise Friday to veto a bill allowing Kansans to carry concealed handguns, saying the measure would have placed law enforcement officers in an "untenable position."

Expected veto of concealed gun bill won't face override try, sponsor says
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
A House sponsor of concealed-handguns legislation that has been sent to the governor says there will be no attempt to override an expected veto of the measure. Rep. L. Candy Ruff said Tuesday there are not enough votes to override Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' threatened veto, so there's no reason to try.

Sebelius says she'll veto concealed-carry bill
Saturday, April 3, 2004
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said Friday she intends to veto a bill legislators have sent her to allow Kansans to carry concealed handguns. "While I haven't seen a final bill, unless there's something in it that I don't understand, it would be my intent to veto it," Sebelius said in her weekly news conference.

Sebelius to veto concealed guns bill
Friday, April 2, 2004
(Web Posted Friday at 11:46 a.m.) TOPEKA - Gov. Kathleen Sebelius today said she will probably veto legislation that would allow Kansans to carry concealed handguns.

Concealed-weapons bill OK'd, faces likely veto
Friday, April 2, 2004
Legislation allowing Kansans to carry concealed handguns cleared the House on Thursday and went to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who has said she won't sign the bill in its current form.

Compromise reached on concealed-carry bill
Wednesday, March 31, 2004
House and Senate negotiators agreed Tuesday on the details of a bill that would allow Kansans to carry concealed handguns, including at the Statehouse.

Senate advances version of concealed-carry bill
Saturday, March 27, 2004
Senators approved a bill Friday night that would allow Kansans to carry concealed weapons, including at the Statehouse.

Concealed carry squeaks by Senate panel
Wednesday, March 24, 2004
A measure allowing Kansans to carry concealed hangduns went to the full Senate after being endorsed Tuesday by the Federal and State Affairs Committee on a 5-4 vote.

Committee votes on concealed carry
Wednesday, March 24, 2004
The 5-4 vote Tuesday by which the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee endorsed a bill that would permit Kansans to carry concealed weapons.

Committee members to consider narrowing concealed carry bill
Wednesday, March 17, 2004
Legislation allowing Kansans to carry concealed handguns should be amended to ban the guns anywhere that schoolchildren gather, members of a Senate committee said after hearing two days of testimony.

Texan argues for concealed carry
Tuesday, March 16, 2004
A Texas legislator whose parents died in a 1991 shooting spree in a cafeteria urged a Kansas Senate committee to endorse a bill that would allow Kansans to carry concealed weapons.

Opponents find flaws in concealed gun bill
Tuesday, March 16, 2004
(Updated Tuesday at 12:22 p.m.) TOPEKA - Opponents of a bill permitting Kansans to carry concealed handguns said Tuesday the measure is flawed because people could carry their weapons into churches and places where children gather.

Senator says concealed carry bill is flawed
Tuesday, March 16, 2004
A member of the Senate committee reviewing a bill permitting Kansans to carry concealed handguns says the measure is flawed, in part because it does not prohibit hidden guns in churches.

Lawmakers consider concealed gun bill
Monday, March 15, 2004
(Updated Monday at 12:23 p.m.) TOPEKA - A Texas legislator whose parents died in a 1991 shooting spree in a cafeteria urged a Kansas Senate committee to endorse a bill that would allow Kansans to carry concealed weapons.

Guns still an issue in modern-day Dodge City
Sunday, March 7, 2004
In the days when Wyatt Earp was making his name as a lawman in Dodge City, he banned guns north of the railroad tracks that ran through the frontier town, where most families lived.

Democrat criticizes putting off education debate
Friday, March 5, 2004
House Democratic Leader Dennis McKinney on Thursday defended Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' education proposal and said he was disappointed Republicans didn't allow a debate on school finance last week in the House.

House OKs concealed weapons bill; backers denied veto-proof margin
Friday, March 5, 2004
Supporters of a bill allowing Kansans to carry concealed handguns were confident Thursday that the measure would pass the Senate but conceded the margin probably will not be veto-proof.

House Democratic leader Dennis McKinney takes part in online chat
Friday, March 5, 2004
Welcome to our online chat with Kansas House Minority Leader Dennis McKinney. The chat took place on Thursday, March 4, at 1:30 PM and is now closed, but you can read the full transcript on this page.

House approves concealed guns bill
Thursday, March 4, 2004
(Updated Thursday at 11:34 a.m.) TOPEKA - The Kansas House today gave final approval to a bill that would allow Kansans to carry concealed weapons. The measure was approved 78-45 and now goes to the Senate for consideration.

Concealed-gun bill moves ahead
Thursday, March 4, 2004
The House tentatively approved a bill Wednesday to allow Kansans to carry concealed handguns after supporters blocked the most serious efforts to water it down. The vote was 78-43 to advance the measure to final action expected today. The margin suggested the measure will pass and go to the Senate.

Concealed guns bill moves to Senate
Thursday, March 4, 2004
(Web Posted Thursday at 11:58 a.m.) TOPEKA - The House approved a bill Thursday to allow Kansans to carry concealed handguns, but not by a veto-proof majority.

House narrows scope of concealed carry bill
Wednesday, March 3, 2004
In debating a bill Wednesday to permit Kansans to carry concealed handguns, pistols and revolvers, the House narrowed the scope of the measure.

House Speaker Doug Mays takes part in online chat
Thursday, February 26, 2004
(Updated Tuesday at 4:04 p.m.) Our online chat with Kansas House Speaker Doug Mays took place on Thursday, February 26, at 3:30 PM and is now closed, but you can read the full transcript on this page. Among the topics Mays touched during the chat were school finance, gay marriage, concealed guns and even the design on the Kansas quarter.

Concealed-weapons bill forwarded to House
Tuesday, February 24, 2004
A bill that would allow Kansans to carry concealed weapons cleared a hurdle Monday.

House panel approves concealed guns bill
Monday, February 23, 2004
(Web Posted Monday at 4:08 p.m.) TOPEKA -- A bill that would allow Kansans to carry concealed weapons cleared a hurdle Monday.
The House Federal and State Affairs Committee voted 13-7 to send the legislation to the full House, along with an amendment defining school property. The bill prohibits concealed guns in government buildings and schools, but the committee had a hard time determining what constitutes school property.

Supporters plead their case to carry concealed weapons
Friday, February 20, 2004
Supporters of concealed weapons in Kansas told a House committee Thursday that allowing law-abiding citizens to carry handguns would help lower the state's crime rate and give women a tool to protect themselves against being raped.

KBI neutral on concealed-carry bill, doesn't want to be administrator
Thursday, February 19, 2004
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is taking a neutral stance on a House bill that would allow Kansas residents to carry concealed weapons, but it is strongly opposed to being in charge of issuing permits for them to do so.

Gun bill triggers unease in cities
Monday, February 16, 2004
When it comes to concealed weapons being carried on the streets of Lawrence, what the city's residents want wouldn't matter if a bill before the Kansas Legislature is approved. That proposed undoing of local regulatory power worries many Kansans, including the League of Kansas Municipalities. The group says it is fine if, for example, Dodge City wants to allow people to carry hidden weapons. But the group also said towns that don't want that to happen should have the power to bar it.

Senate President Dave Kerr chats online
Tuesday, February 10, 2004
Welcome to our online chat with Kansas Senate President Dave Kerr. The chat took place on Tuesday, February 10, at 1:30 PM and is now closed, but you can read the full transcript on this page.

Concealed guns expected to be legislative issue
Sunday, January 11, 2004
Kansas is among five states where it remains illegal for citizens to carry a gun covered by a coat or tucked into a purse, but some lawmakers plan to make a run at changing that this year.

Legislator to take new shot on guns
Wednesday, January 7, 2004
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' opposition to a bill allowing Kansans to carry concealed handguns may not matter, according to a northeast Kansas legislator who is pushing for the law. Rep. Candy Ruff, a Democrat from Leavenworth, said she hoped the legislation would win by such large margins in the Legislature that it would survive a veto by Sebelius. Overturning a veto would require two-thirds votes in the House and Senate.

Missouri parks officials raise cautionary flag over concealed guns
Sunday, October 19, 2003
Parents screaming at coaches. Coaches shoving umpires. Spectators fighting in the stands. Hooliganism has become such a familiar part of youth sports that some Missouri parks officials worry hidden guns could soon add a new element of danger.

Kansas in crosshairs of concealed-gun bill
Monday, September 29, 2003
Supporters of concealed weapons have set their sights on Kansas and plan to ask lawmakers to consider a gun bill next year, said Phil Journey, president of the Kansas State Rifle Assn.

Letter: Not concealed
Monday, July 28, 2003

Concealed-gun supporters taking state-by-state approach
Wednesday, March 13, 2002
Around the country, gun-rights groups are waging what some portray as a deliberately gradual, one-step-at-a-time effort to ease state laws governing the carrying of a concealed weapon.