OCDO Press Release: Good news for open carry in Kansas!

imported post

UPDATE, 5 MAY 07: Preemption of local open carry bans is limited to open carry in vehicles by concealed handgun permit holders. Sorry for any confusion below.

Looks like we have more work to do in Kansas than we thought . . .

**************************************
OpenCarry.org Press Release – 29 April 2007
**************************************

Good newsfor open carry in Kansas - if you have a permit to conceal, a new law makes youimmune to local ordinances banning open carry in Kansas.

Not quite Gold Star open carry state status, but Kansas is getting close!

On Friday, 27 April 2007, the Kansas legislature overrode Governor Kathleen Sebelius' (D) veto of 2528, a bill preempting localities from enforcing local gun control ordinances; see NRA summary at [url]http://www.nraila.org/News/Read/NewsReleases.aspx?ID=9340[/url].

An Associated Press article at http://www.cjonline.com/stories/042707/bre_guns.shtmlappears to miss the point about preemption of open carry ordnances, focusing only on preemption of local concealed carry restrictions.

This decisive action in Kansas follows closely behind the Ohio legislature's overturning of a similar veto in December 2006 by Ohio Governor Taft (R). See [url]http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061213/NEWS24/612130447[/url] (noting that Ohio was the 45th state to preempt localities on gun control).

The Kansas legislature's action is thus the 3d override of a Gubernatorial pro-gun legislationin only13 months,demonstrating the raw power of the popular support of gun rights in America. In March 2006, the Kansas legislature overrode Sebelious' veto of a bill to legalize concealed carry of handguns in public, see [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathleen_Sebelius[/url].

Usually of course, state Governors rarely get overrode - even if a bill passes by a veto proof majority, the usual practice is that just enough legislative members of the Governor's party switch votes to allow her veto to be sustained.

Not on pro-gun bills it seems - the stakes are too high.

Unfortunately, in order to ensure that they had enough votes to withstand the veto,SB 2528's sponsors had to weaken the open carry preemption language just a tad - localities' open carry restrictions can stand for now, but concealed permit holders are immune.

In most states, state law does not require any license to open carry handguns.


SB 2528 was sponsored by Sen. Phil Journey, R-Haysville & Rep. Candy Ruff (D-Leavenworth); the text of the bill can be found at

[url]http://www.kslegislature.org/bills/2008/2528.pdf[/url].

OpenCarry.org hopes that next year Kansas will enact full preemption and make Kansas a Gold Star open carry state where no local ordinance may restrict open carry, whether a person has a permit to conceal carry, or not.

##########################
Contact anytime on gun stories:
Mike Stollenwerk/John Pierce
[url]http://www.OpenCarry.org[/url]
##########################

imported post

http://www.ksag.org/files/shared/HB2528.Modifications.pdf

imported post

Mike wrote:

Good newsfor open carry in Kansas - if you have a permit to conceal, a new law makes youimmune to local ordinances banning open carry in Kansas.

Click to expand...

Sorry Mike, I can't agree. The relevant portion states:

(that the new law DOES NOT)

....prohibit a city or county from regulating the manner of openly carrying a loaded firearm on one’s person; or in the immediate control of a person, not licensed under the personal and family protection act while on property open to the public.

The first provision applies to everybody. Only the second part is modified by the "not licensed" exception. If it had said "the person of," and had no ";" then I would agree with you. "person" is being used in two different senses (1) the body and (2) an individual which doesn't help. I think the KS legislature would have (it certainly could have) made it clear and explicit if licensees were to be exempt from any and all open carry ordinances.

I hate bursting your bubble but it is important to read the law as it is not as we wish it were. Kansans should push for the type of law you mean.

imported post

apjonas wrote:

Mike wrote:

Good newsfor open carry in Kansas - if you have a permit to conceal, a new law makes youimmune to local ordinances banning open carry in Kansas.

Click to expand...

Sorry Mike, I can't agree. The relevant portion states:

(that the new law DOES NOT)

....prohibit a city or county from regulating the manner of openly carrying a loaded firearm on one’s person; or in the immediate control of a person, not licensed under the personal and family protection act while on property open to the public.

The first provision applies to everybody. Only the second part is modified by the "not licensed" exception. If it had said "the person of," and had no ";" then I would agree with you. "person" is being used in two different senses (1) the body and (2) an individual which doesn't help. I think the KS legislature would have (it certainly could have) made it clear and explicit if licensees were to be exempt from any and all open carry ordinances.

I hate bursting your bubble but it is important to read the law as it is not as we wish it were. Kansans should push for the type of law you mean.

Click to expand...

I literally was just looking at the KS AG summary and that pesky semi-colon you refer to above minutes ago; I agree with you in that localities are not completely preempted on open carry for permit holders - but the AG summary does say that permit holders may open carry in vehicles, local ordinances notwithstanding.

As far as bubble bursting, I'd call this one a tie with the KS AG summary; and as you know, there never were any others.