Beginning July 1st, Kansas’ public universities, and hospitals, among others will allow the concealed carry of firearms in any public building that does not have additional security measures such as metal detectors.
While attending a Legislative Coffee in Junction City on April 1st, Kansas Senate Vice President Jeff Longbine said that much of the gun and knife legislation in the last few years has “gone too far”.
“As the exemptions expire, and concealed and open carry become realities in those places that some people don’t want, then one of two things will happen – number one is [we] will either get a comfort level that carrying weapons in those facilities is okay, or the public outcry will be so great that it will make the Legislature go back and revisit those,” said Longbine.
Noting those two situations (above), Longbine said that he doesn’t see a strong pull in either direction. “We certainly don’t have the comfort level, and the public outcry has been there but it hasn’t been enough to push the Legislature into making a concerted effort to move.”
Longbine noted that he and other Senators are on the lookout for bills that may be germane to campus carry, and hospitals. “I hope there’s an effort this week to run a bill that would exempt KU Hospital, our State mental hospitals and our local County hospitals from the requirement of providing adequate security measures.”
If the public outcry isn’t loud enough now, Longbine is confident that by late Summer, early Fall it will increase.
“The best example I can give is the first K-State football game – as you have 50, or 60,000 people trying to enter Bill Snyder Family Stadium through two entrances that have metal detection and you’re in line for an hour and a half trying to get into that stadium – we may get some public outcry,” said Longbine.
Longbine noted that due to financial constraints, it’s unclear how K-State, for example, will keep weapons out of the football stadium. “They’re going to have to do metal detection to keep weapons out of the stadium; so how they implement that, what they can afford to implement, how many entrances will be available to the public are yet to be determined, but it will slow things down and I think the public will get a better understanding of the challenges and the frustrations at that point.”
Richard Myers, Kansas State University President, has been vocal in his discontent with the new law.
The 2nd Amendment protects Americans’ right to bear arms; but are weapons necessary on college campuses, and hospitals (for example)? Share your thoughts in the comments below.