Candidates responses Here s how the major candidates for governor responded this week to a Star questionnaire about gun control. Independent Greg Orman Did not respond. Republicans Jim Barnett I think that the recent events in Florida demonstrate the increased risk in that age range for horrific consequences from owning a gun such as an AR-15. First of all, what we have seen in the last seven years has been a systematic dismantling of our behavioral health care system in Kansas. I think the most important thing that I can do as governor is to restore the behavioral healthcare system in our state. The second topic would come in the area of school security. I ve been in and out of a lot of schools and you can tell that they are investing major dollars in security cameras, locks, etc. And that takes a lot of money. So for our schools to do the best job they can to secure their buildings, we need to have adequate funding. So that actually ties back to funding schools and actually what I think our public safety issues now.
And the third area intrigues me, and I think we should look at is the red flag approach, so that if judges, police officers, school administrators, and teachers and parents, are aware of an individual that is demonstrating risky behavior like was demonstrated in Parkland, Florida, they should have the ability to petition the court to keep that individual from purchasing and possessing guns. Barnett later added: I support the Second Amendment, but think that we should be looking at ideas such as red flag legislation. I m not aware of one at the moment. Jeff Colyer Despite being sent the full list of questions, Colyer s staff responded with the following statement:. I think if you are old enough to put your life on the line serving your country in the military, then you are old enough to exercise your 2nd amendment right to own a firearm. In Kansas we will be thoughtful and pragmatic as we work to understand how best to prevent these issues in the future. I know that most decisions are best made at the local level. I look forward to listening to our local communities and gathering their ideas on how best to keep our children safe. Mark Hutton Responsible gun owners should not be barred from hunting and self defense once they become adults which is 18. We must implement school safety measures and mental health reforms, not gut the constitutional rights of our citizens. Semi-automatic rifles have been used to hunt for over 100 years. They are also a means of self-defense to protect one s family and property hunting isn t the only reason people own rifles.
I don t think arming teachers is the answer but I do think they should have the right to carry unless a school meets security requirements to assure protection We should be focused on keeping all guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals, not just specific guns. It s the crazy person who commits the crime, not the gun. 5. ****** Kris Kobach. The minimum age should remain at 18, which is the minimum age for purchasing any other long gun from a licensed dealer.. Although I am an archery hunter for deer and other types of large game, I use an AR-style rifle for hunting coyotes (in Kansas) and feral hogs (in Texas). It has become the preferred type of rifle in the hunting world for pursuing predators and feral hogs. Its shorter profile and ease of adding components to the rail make it better than a traditional rifle for those types of hunting.. When the government fails to stop a shooting before it happens, that is the last line of defense for our children. The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. The Kansas law that was supposed to allow trained and willing teachers to be armed is not working as intended. teachers have yet been permitted by their school boards to be armed. The law needs to be revised so that trained and willing teachers can obtain permission and begin protecting students. I support a bill that was already passed out of committee in Congress to make it easier for gun owners to buy sound-reducing suppressors (the Sportsman s Heritage and
Recreational Enhancement SHARE Act). They are very helpful in reducing damage to hearing that is caused by regular sport shooting. They are already legal and widespread, but the federal requirements and the $200 tax currently make them difficult to obtain. I also support the Congressional bill to make concealed carry permits reciprocal in all states. Ken Selzer I do not support cash incentives of any kind for carrying guns. We do need to aggressively improve security at schools and other public institutions, including investing in armed security officers and armed resource officers who will take action to protect our children. We can and must improve the inter and intra agency reporting in the background check process in order to prevent mentally ill individuals and criminals from purchasing guns. We must demand that government agencies improve communication and and then act on tips they receive about threats in our communities. This could have prevented many of the shootings in recent years. We aren t effectively managing the processes we have in place to reduce potential for gun violence. We should hold our government officials and bureaucrats accountable for fully implementing the laws already on the books Democrats Carl Brewer
I think a lot of it s when you re talking about semi-automatic weapons, a lot of it has to do with maturity and I think it s something that one, the person needs to be mature but then also, they need to have whatever necessary training there is to know exactly what they re dealing with. It s not necessary for to use it as a hunting (weapon). There are lots of other weapons. I m a hunter myself, big game hunter, and if I can hunt things that I need and I don t have to have an AR-15, then certainly they can do the exact same thing. I don t support that. After serving as mayor of the city of Wichita, you know, teachers are in schools to teach and it s almost impossible for them to teach and also to be responsible for a weapon. Children can get their hands on it. Teachers can make mistakes. Certainly we need to go through a very extensive vetting process. If individuals believe that it s that important that they have an AR-15, then certainly there s a federal vetting process that you can actually go through where individuals with federal firearms license, they go and apply for those, and they do a very thorough background check on individuals, so i think that we need to start looking very seriously at doing those types of things. But then secondly, taking it a step farther. We need to make it mandatory, if you re going to carry a weapon, we have law enforcement that have to have training on a regular basis. We have military personal, those that are defending this country, to protect our constitutional rights, they have to have training in being able to handle various different weapons. There s no reason that we as civilians can t do the exact same thing as citizens and go out and get the necessary training and at least you have somewhat of an idea of what you re supposed to be doing as opposed to just going out and purchasing a weapon and then you re trying to figure it out. And you take the risk of injuring yourself or somebody else, all because of ignorance. So I think we need to have
mandatory training and if you re going to go inside a place with a weapon, then you should be licensed to have the weapon. As I said, I m a hunter. I ve got plenty of weapons and so, the laws that we have in place are somewhat, I believe, that they re somewhat fair. But with the exception of concealed carry, things of that nature, but also I don t believe that we should have guns in schools. If you re not law enforcement, then you certainly shouldn t have a gun in school. Teachers shouldn t be carrying weapons and principals shouldn t be carrying weapons. They re job is there to teach our students and teach our children and I don t believe that we should have guns on college campuses. Josh Svaty The issue we should focus on first is not on weapons, but on banning 30 round clips of ammunition for all weapons.. I do not support putting guns in the hands of our teachers, period. I support universal background checks, banning 30 round ammunition clips and banning bump stocks or any other mechanical device that alters a weapon.. Laura Kelly We can respect and defend the rights of Kansas gun owners, while also taking effective, common sense steps to keep our children and families safe from gun violence.
I will work to implement common sense gun safety standards like limiting access to the types of assault weapons that were designed for combat zones. Because of the Brownback-Colyer tax experiment, our public schools lost millions in funding that could have gone towards additional security. Arming teachers with guns isn t going to fix anything. We need fewer guns in our schools, not more. It is time we adequately fund our public schools. We need more resources in our classrooms, better pay for our teachers, more support staff, more mental health counselors, and additional support for at-risk students. Education has been my mission for my entire career and it will be my top priority as governor. In 2016, I voted to ban guns on college campuses. We should ban campus carry this year. In 2017, I voted to ban guns from mental health facilities, adult care homes, or state owned medical facilities. I support Senate Bill 390 (introduced by Sen. Barbara Bollier) which would allow law enforcement to remove guns from individuals found to be a threat to him/herself and others. I support making it illegal for anyone convicted of a domestic violence offense to possess a gun. I support banning bump stocks. I support background checks for all gun purchases, including gun shows. We must move beyond the same partisan divides on this issue. As Governor, I will do that. I ll bring everyone together law enforcement officials, school officials, mental health experts, parents to find common ground and meaningful solutions to this problem.
Jim Ward While some responsibilities and privileges make sense for teenagers, owning a highpowered firearm isn t one of them. We don t even allow people to drink alcohol until they re 21 years old. Although we allow teenagers to drive, the statistics are instructive: 16 to 19-year-olds are three times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than drivers who are 20 or older. self-respecting hunter needs a gun that fires 400 rounds per minute. We need to keep guns out of the classroom. one should have a gun in a school. Even highly trained sharpshooters will miss their targets in high-stress active shooter situations. It s extremely irresponsible to place our children in the middle of the crossfire and hope for the best. Implement comprehensive background checks and close the gun show loophole. Get guns off our campuses. Prevent people with domestic violence and other violent crime convictions from possessing or purchasing firearms. Prevent 18 to 20-year-olds from carrying concealed firearms. Prohibit bump stocks from being sold in Kansas guns that already shoot 400 rounds per minute don t need an accessory that enables them to fire even faster..