Free Republic

WICHITA, Kansas--“Ted Cruz came roaring into the Senate in 2012, a lot like a prairie fire,” Sen. Pat Roberts said, introducing Cruz to an audience here. "Prairie fire" is not how one might describe Roberts' long tenure in the Senate. But as he works to stave off an unexpected challenge from independent candidate Greg Orman, a wealthy businessman who has declined to say which party he would join in the Senate, the monumental importance of the race has prompted Cruz, Sarah Palin, and other top conservatives to chip in to help win the race.

On the last day of the legislative session, June 3rd, the Missouri legislature passed SB646, which reforms the State's gun laws.     The bill was passed with a veto proof majority in the house, 111- 28 and a potentially veto proof majority in the Senate, 21-7.   Four senators did not vote.   Two more votes are needed to make the Senate vote veto proof.   Three of the Senators have voted pro-second amendment rights in the past.   From opencarry.org, here is some history:  Mike Parson Rep Voted for nulification bill Bob Dixon Rep Voted previously to overide veto of nullification bill...

Kansas legislators have decided to live by the same law and principles that they have required of communities around the State.   They welcome armed people who have obtained concealed carry permits into the Statehouse.  It is not as if there is any serious risk involved.   People who go to the trouble of obtaining concealed carry permits have repeatedly shown themselves to be many times more law abiding than the general population.   They commit murder at only a fraction of the rate that police officers do.   If the legislature trusts armed police officers in their Statehouse, they certainly should trust...

A growing trend in state governments is the reform of antiquated knife laws.  The laws were often passed decades ago.  They have been overtaken by Constitutional law.   Clearly, if firearms are protected under the second amendment, so are knives. Last year, in 2013, Kansas reformed their knife laws, enacting a statewide preemption to prevent local governments from chilling the exercise of second amendment rights for knives.   The law was found to have some ambiguity, so this year, as part of an overall weapons law reform bill, it was made clear that old local laws were repealed, and that it...

Kansas Governor Sam Brownback signed HB 2578 into law today, 23 April, 2014.   The law strengthens state preemption by preventing local governments from banning  the open carry of firearms and making the disclosure of the possession of a concealed carry license a condition of employment.  From kansas.com: The governor has signed a bill that will bar local governments from enforcing local gun ordinances, his office announced Wednesday morning. Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2014/04/23/3419021/kansas-governor-signs-gun-legislation.html#storylink=cpy It requires adequate signage to prohibit the open carry of firearms by premises that choose to do so.   There is no penalty for open carrying in such...

The Kansas legislature has passed the current gun law reform bill by overwhelming margins and sent it to Governor Brownback for signature or veto.    The bill, HB2578/SB447, strengthens state preemption language that limits the power of local governments to chill the exercise of second amendment rights. It requires adequate signage to prohibit the open carry of firearms by premises that choose to do so.   There is no penalty for open carrying in such premises unless the open carrier refuses to leave when asked to do so. Guns that are forfeited to law enforcement agencies are mostly prohibited from being...

WICHITA, Kan. -- The man who police say shot and killed a home intruder early Monday morning has been arrested. Officers were called to the 2300 block of North Poplar shortly before 4 a.m. Monday. Officers say a 35-year-old woke up to a noise, then opened his bedroom door and saw a man inside his home. The men began fighting and shots were fired.

Today, the state House Federal and State Affairs Committee passed House Bill 2473 by voice vote, sending it to the House floor.  HB 2473 was approved with the addition of a critical self-defense amendment offered by state Representative Michael Houser (R-1), which would allow law-abiding citizens to carry a concealed firearm in their vehicle without having a concealed handgun license (CHL).  Please contact your state Representative TODAY and respectfully urge him or her to support this comprehensive legislation! If passed and enacted into law, HB 2473 would expand Kansas’ firearms preemption provisions to open carry and prohibit municipalities from implementing local...

Feds deny requests from 3 states to require proof-of-citizenship on voter registration forms WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The U.S. Election Assistance Commission found Friday that heightened proof-of-citizenship requirements likely would hinder eligible citizens from voting in federal elections, handing down a ruling that denied requests from Kansas, Arizona and Georgia to modify the registration form for their residents. The decision came just hours before a court-imposed deadline in a lawsuit filed in federal court by Kansas and Arizona that seeks to force the commission to modify state-specific requirements for registering to vote in those states. Georgia, which has a similar...

Pat Roberts is up for re-election against a KS doctor with lose ties to the president trying to capitalize on his 15 minutes of fame. Pat Roberts, while not a vocal leader, has been a consistent vote for conservative principles in the Senate. His opponent, Milton Wolf, is running on a platform that Roberts has had his shot and failed to move the conservative movement forward. He has a valid point. Should Kansas conservatives continue to give Pat Roberts their vote even though they continue to lose ground on the national level or is it time to give someone else...

Wichita Police Lt. Doug Nolte said the man walked into the Jump Start store at 1535 E.Pawnee around 11:20 p.m. He pulled out a gun and demanded money, and the 23-year-old female clerk gave him cash from the drawer. When the man demanded money from the safe, the clerk took the gun away from the man and hit him with it. The robber jumped over the counter and the two fought for several minutes. The clerk dragged the robber out of the store and told him to leave. As police were investigating the robbery, there was a call to 911...

Kansas recently passed legislation requiring that local governments that ban the legal carry of concealed weapons in public buildings, do so for people who ignore the law as well.  The logic is simple: If a person is willing to do illegal harm with a weapon, then ignoring a simple sign that forbids people from having weapons on the premises will not be much of a deterrent.  This creates a situation where only those who are willing to ignore the law are armed.  John Lott has noted that all of the public mass shootings since 1950, except one, have been...

Wichita will open most of its public buildings – including libraries, recreational centers, CityArts and the Wichita Art Museum – to people carrying concealed guns under a new state law. Fearful of lawsuits, the City Council voted 4-2 to allow concealed-carry in all but 16 of 107 city-owned buildings effective Jan. 1. Guns will continue to be banned at City Hall, Mid-Continent Airport buildings, police buildings and city housing department facilities. In city buildings that are leased to third parties, such as the Wichita Boathouse, the operators retain the right to ban guns. The state law, Senate Substitute for House...

One of the reforms that was passed in Kansas in 2013 was a ban on government defenseless victim zones, unless they were enforced.   The law requires that if a government entity bans law abiding citizens from carrying guns on their premises, then they must enforce that ban for criminals who would ignore mere signs.  Rep. Forest Knox, who sponsored the bill, explained its purpose:  “It is about safety,” the Altoona Republican told the Emporia Gazette. “You’re not afraid of illegal guns that are already there but you’re afraid of law-abiding citizens who are carrying guns? And I think the...

When liberal fascists say that they have the right to regulate something, they mean they have the power to ban it.    This has been shown over and over again in  in the field of firearms legislation.  The Texas people, removed the reconstruction  governor by force, after  he refused to abide by election results.  Then they  restored the right to keep and bear arms that had been gutted by the carpet bagger constitution of 1869,  with the new state constitution of 1876.  Unfortunately, they left in a legislative loophole:  "Every citizen shall have the right to keep and bear arms in...

The resident called 911 around two o'clock Friday afternoon to report the shooting. It happened in the 1000 block of north Firefly, near 119th street West and Central. Police say the resident shot at the door and the alleged burglars drove off. Police caught up with them a short time later and found a 22-year-old with a gun shot wound to the head. Two other 19-year-olds in the car were arrested. Police say the homeowner was protecting himself and will not be charged.

Complete news release from the Kansas Attorney General's Office: Kansas concealed carry licenses are now recognized in the State of Alabama, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced today. The Office of Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange last week notified the Kansas Attorney General’s office that a new Alabama law, which took effect August 1, recognizes valid concealed carry licenses from all other states. A similar law was passed by the Kansas legislature earlier this year, which allows all valid out-of-state permits to be recognized in Kansas when the non-resident permit holder is traveling temporarily in Kansas. Alabama is the 34th...

A Kansas law that allows teachers to carry weapons to protect children prompted EMC, the major insurance provider for Kansas Schools, to refuse to renew policies.   Three Kansas Community colleges  looked for alternate insurance sources after EMC told them it would drop their policies if they allowed staff to carry guns to protect their students. Independence Community College, Labette Community College and Neosho County Community College formed an insurance consortium at a considerable savings. EMC made a counter offer, but it may be too late. David Wallis, an incoming ICC Trustee said: "I truly believe when the word gets...

EMC Insurance is a firm that began a century ago as Employers Mutual Casualty Association of Iowa. Its products are sold in forty states and it claims to be one of the sixty largest insurance companies in America. And now it thinks it can defy an interest group that does not like to be disrespected: A new Kansas law allowing gun owners to carry weapons in public buildings, including schools, has thrust a major Des Moines-based insurer into the national gun control debate. The EMC Insurance Cos. insures 85 percent to 90 percent of all Kansas school districts and...

TOPEKA, Kan. – Fresh off a series of legislative victories across the country, the National Rifle Association has launched a new effort starting in gun-friendly Kansas seeking to clamp down on the use of government money to lobby on gun-control issues.