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http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/local/crime_courts/14895395.htm
Kansans plan for new gun permits
BY STEVE PAINTER
The Wichita Eagle
TOPEKA - Don Holman is bracing for an onslaught of business.
Come July 1, Kansans can apply for permits to carry concealed handguns.
Holman, owner of the Bullet Stop, 2625 W. Pawnee in Wichita, saw a 30 percent spike in sales when lawmakers passed the new law earlier this year over Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' veto.
He's expecting more sales as people begin applying, even though no permits will be issued before Jan. 1.
"I think you're going to see another mad run again," he said.
But those hoping to obtain a permit, and those gearing up to handle the permitting process, have more questions than answers as Kansas prepares to become the 40th state to implement a law that allows the carrying of concealed guns.
"We anticipate that people will be bringing us quite a few applications," said Sedgwick County Sheriff Gary Steed.
How many? Steed estimates 25,000 statewide, with as many as a third of those in Sedgwick County.
The law's chief sponsor, Sen. Phil Journey, R-Haysville, expects 3,000 Wichitans to get permits the first year, 6,000 when it's all said and done.
Holman puts the number much higher. He figures as many as 40,000 people in Sedgwick County already are carrying guns.
"If we can legitimize half to two-thirds of those, we're ahead," he said. The other third, he said, probably couldn't pass the criminal background check.
Who wants to carry?
Jason Baze of Wichita is ready to carry. He hasn't been a crime victim, he said, but he has been at the wrong place at almost the wrong time -- a central Wichita convenience store about three years ago. Somebody was shot about five minutes after he left.
If law-abiding citizens can legally carry concealed guns, he said, "it's going to make people think twice about committing violent crimes."
A former Kansan isn't sold on the need to carry a gun. Amy Fletcher, who recently moved to Louisiana, where her husband is stationed in the U.S. Army, said she was attacked in her hometown of Salina.
She got away, she said, by jabbing her attacker in the hand with the corkscrew of a "very small" Swiss army knife she carried in her pocket.
"I believe this new 'permit' is only going to mean more violence," she wrote in an e-mail to The Wichita Eagle. "In a society filled with so much violence already, it is a shame."
The new law clearly won't make everyone happy -- not even everyone who supports the concept.
Robert Waddel of Wichita came to this country three years ago from Scotland, where he held a British firearms license.
He owns guns, none of them pistols, but would like to get a concealed-gun permit.
"Personally, I'd like the ability to protect me and mine," he said.
Waddel, however, is not eligible. He's not yet a U.S. citizen.
"I did everything legally. I work. I pay taxes," he said. "I hold a green card. I've got a job. I'm reasonably well-educated." The law, however, allows onlyU.S. citizens to get permits.
Wayne Barngrover and his wife, Gloria, of Dodge City had concealed-gun permits for 1 ½ of the three years they lived in Oklahoma.
"She found it a cumbersome annoyance," Wayne Barngrover said. "I just felt better with her having one and having the training."
Neither had occasion to pull a weapon out for protection. But Barngrover contends that, because most law-abiding citizens aren't armed, "they're relatively easy marks for someone who is."
That message was brought home, he said, not long after they moved back to Kansas, when a quadruple murder in Wichita was in the news.
Reginald and Jonathan Carr, formerly residents of Dodge City, were later convicted of the murders.
"They had a weapon and their victims didn't," Barngrover said.
The application process
As state and local officials prepare for the new law, most of the action is at the offices of Attorney General Phill Kline, who is responsible for writing the rules to comply with the law.
A spokesman said Friday that the application forms will be ready July 1. They will be distributed to sheriff's offices and posted on the attorney general's Web site (http://www.ksag.org) to be printed off.
In Sedgwick County, Steed says his office plans soon to distribute a frequently-asked-questions brochure to law enforcement officers and probably to gun shops.
His office tentatively plans to accept applications in the sheriff's department lobby, 141 W. Elm, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
A fingerprinting machine will be moved from a secure area to the lobby to expedite the process.
"We're trying to make it a good process, a smooth process," he said. "I really don't see it as doom and gloom or anything like that."
Applicants should show up with a completed application form, a photo that clearly identifies them, a gun training certificate and, most likely, a cashier's check or money order to cover the application fee, Steed said.
Reach Steve Painter at 785-296-3006 or spainter@wichitaeagle.com.
http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/local/crime_courts/14895395.htm
Kansans plan for new gun permits
BY STEVE PAINTER
The Wichita Eagle
TOPEKA - Don Holman is bracing for an onslaught of business.
Come July 1, Kansans can apply for permits to carry concealed handguns.
Holman, owner of the Bullet Stop, 2625 W. Pawnee in Wichita, saw a 30 percent spike in sales when lawmakers passed the new law earlier this year over Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' veto.
He's expecting more sales as people begin applying, even though no permits will be issued before Jan. 1.
"I think you're going to see another mad run again," he said.
But those hoping to obtain a permit, and those gearing up to handle the permitting process, have more questions than answers as Kansas prepares to become the 40th state to implement a law that allows the carrying of concealed guns.
"We anticipate that people will be bringing us quite a few applications," said Sedgwick County Sheriff Gary Steed.
How many? Steed estimates 25,000 statewide, with as many as a third of those in Sedgwick County.
The law's chief sponsor, Sen. Phil Journey, R-Haysville, expects 3,000 Wichitans to get permits the first year, 6,000 when it's all said and done.
Holman puts the number much higher. He figures as many as 40,000 people in Sedgwick County already are carrying guns.
"If we can legitimize half to two-thirds of those, we're ahead," he said. The other third, he said, probably couldn't pass the criminal background check.
Who wants to carry?
Jason Baze of Wichita is ready to carry. He hasn't been a crime victim, he said, but he has been at the wrong place at almost the wrong time -- a central Wichita convenience store about three years ago. Somebody was shot about five minutes after he left.
If law-abiding citizens can legally carry concealed guns, he said, "it's going to make people think twice about committing violent crimes."
A former Kansan isn't sold on the need to carry a gun. Amy Fletcher, who recently moved to Louisiana, where her husband is stationed in the U.S. Army, said she was attacked in her hometown of Salina.
She got away, she said, by jabbing her attacker in the hand with the corkscrew of a "very small" Swiss army knife she carried in her pocket.
"I believe this new 'permit' is only going to mean more violence," she wrote in an e-mail to The Wichita Eagle. "In a society filled with so much violence already, it is a shame."
The new law clearly won't make everyone happy -- not even everyone who supports the concept.
Robert Waddel of Wichita came to this country three years ago from Scotland, where he held a British firearms license.
He owns guns, none of them pistols, but would like to get a concealed-gun permit.
"Personally, I'd like the ability to protect me and mine," he said.
Waddel, however, is not eligible. He's not yet a U.S. citizen.
"I did everything legally. I work. I pay taxes," he said. "I hold a green card. I've got a job. I'm reasonably well-educated." The law, however, allows onlyU.S. citizens to get permits.
Wayne Barngrover and his wife, Gloria, of Dodge City had concealed-gun permits for 1 ½ of the three years they lived in Oklahoma.
"She found it a cumbersome annoyance," Wayne Barngrover said. "I just felt better with her having one and having the training."
Neither had occasion to pull a weapon out for protection. But Barngrover contends that, because most law-abiding citizens aren't armed, "they're relatively easy marks for someone who is."
That message was brought home, he said, not long after they moved back to Kansas, when a quadruple murder in Wichita was in the news.
Reginald and Jonathan Carr, formerly residents of Dodge City, were later convicted of the murders.
"They had a weapon and their victims didn't," Barngrover said.
The application process
As state and local officials prepare for the new law, most of the action is at the offices of Attorney General Phill Kline, who is responsible for writing the rules to comply with the law.
A spokesman said Friday that the application forms will be ready July 1. They will be distributed to sheriff's offices and posted on the attorney general's Web site (http://www.ksag.org) to be printed off.
In Sedgwick County, Steed says his office plans soon to distribute a frequently-asked-questions brochure to law enforcement officers and probably to gun shops.
His office tentatively plans to accept applications in the sheriff's department lobby, 141 W. Elm, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
A fingerprinting machine will be moved from a secure area to the lobby to expedite the process.
"We're trying to make it a good process, a smooth process," he said. "I really don't see it as doom and gloom or anything like that."
Applicants should show up with a completed application form, a photo that clearly identifies them, a gun training certificate and, most likely, a cashier's check or money order to cover the application fee, Steed said.
Reach Steve Painter at 785-296-3006 or spainter@wichitaeagle.com.
