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Kansas Moms Demand Action, Students Demand Action Condemn Lawmakers for Voting to Override Gov. Kelly’s Veto of Dangerous Bill to Let Teenagers Carry Hidden, Loaded Guns in Public

May 3, 2021

The Kansas chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, the grassroots networks of Everytown for Gun Safety, released the following statement after the Kansas Senate and House of Representatives voted to override Governor Kelly’s veto of HB 2058, a bill which allows 18-, 19-, 20- year olds to obtain permits to carry concealed handguns in public, including carrying inside school grounds and on college campuses and would make it harder to keep guns out of the hands of violent criminals. HB 2058 would also automatically let people with carry permits from other states—including untrained people and even some with dangerous histories—carry concealed handguns in public in Kansas. 

“Lawmakers went out of their way to put Kansans in danger and voted against what their constituents want,” said Amanda Winch, a volunteer leader with Kansas Moms Demand Action. “This policy would put all our public safety at risk. Governor Kelly saw that and vetoed this bill, but our legislature refused to put public safety first. We won’t forget this blatant disregard for our safety in 2022.”

“This bill was utterly ridiculous, which is why the governor vetoed it a week ago,” said Sophia Steffensmeier, a volunteer with Students Demand Action in Kansas, “There is no reason teenagers should be able to carry hidden, loaded weapons in public, especially where they don’t belong, like our school grounds and on college campuses. Today, the people who are supposed to represent us, voted in favor of making Kansas a more dangerous place.”

What to know about HB 2058, which would automatically let people with permits from other states carry concealed handguns in Kansas:

  • HB 2058 would let people with permits from other states carry concealed handguns into Kansas.
    • This bill contains a dangerous gun lobby-backed proposal to automatically allow people with permits from other states to carry hidden, loaded handguns in Kansas communities—even if they would be ineligible for Kansas permits.
    • 14 states issue concealed carry permits to teenagers, who are not eligible to carry concealed handguns in public under current Kansas law. Of those states, 10 allow certain convicted stalkers to obtain permits; 9 fail to require live-fire handgun safety training; and 6 issue permits to many violent misdemeanor offenders.
    • It would automatically allow people with permits from other states—including teenagers, certain convicted stalkers, and people who have never fired a handgun—to carry hidden, loaded handguns in public throughout Kansas.
  • HB 2058 would allow Kansas teenagers to carry hidden, loaded handguns in public.
    • Under current Kansas law, 18-, 19-, and 20-year-olds cannot legally carry hidden, loaded handguns in public. But HB 2058 would allow teenagers to obtain permits to carry concealed handguns throughout the state.
    • 18-, 19-, and 20-year-olds commit gun homicides at a rate nearly four times higher than adults 21 and older.
    • This bill would allow teenagers to carry hidden, loaded handguns in public, undermining the common sense laws that keep Kansas communities safe when people carry concealed firearms in public.

Statistics about gun violence in Kansas are available here, and Everytown’s Gun Law Navigator – which shows how Kansas gun laws compare to those of other states – is available here.

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