Kansas Senate Passes Constitutional Carry – But it’s Not Law Yet
Russ Chastain 03.02.15
Kansas, USA – In a step towards freedom and away from government oppression, the Kansas state senate passed Senate Bill 45 last Thursday, in effect allowing anyone age 21 or older to carry a concealed handgun without having to beg and bribe the government for permission to do so.
Faced with the typical opposition from folks who have been frightened by anti-gun scare tactics and lulled with the comforting lie that gun laws affect criminals (duh), this measure will have to pass the state house and be signed by the governor before it would become law.
I’m hopeful that it will happen, given the recent trend in Kansas towards firearms freedom; in 2010 the Kansas state constitution was amended to clarify the right of each person to bear arms, and unlicensed open carry is already legal in Kansas. Giving citizens the freedom to arm themselves without advertising their guns just makes sense.
If it becomes law, Kansas would join Alaska, Arizona, Vermont, and Wyoming as “Constitutional Carry” states. And that’s a good thing. We need more states to follow suit in my opinion.
Those who oppose such laws include groups who make money by sowing fear, such as Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a spokesperson for which said “Moms don’t want to sit down for dinner at a restaurant with their families next to an armed customer who has never even handled a gun before, who doesn’t have a license, and who can carry with no questions asked.
Personally, I believe that many mothers do indeed appreciate having armed citizens present to help protect them and their families, and that fearing theoretical inexperience makes as much sense as being scared of a boogy man hiding under your bed.
To me, licensing is mainly a way for the state to extort money from citizens while maintaining the fiction that the government owns your right to bear arms and can place limits on it, while in reality (or at least in the U.S. Constitution), each citizen owns his or her own rights, and the government’s real job is to protect those rights.
Kansas State Rifle Association president Patricia Stoneking noted that allowing concealed carry is *not* a large departure from current law, which has not caused any problems by allowing folks to carry firearms openly:
Why would we all of a sudden say 21-year-olds who are going to be able to put a jacket over the gun are any different than if they didn’t have a jacket over the gun?” she said. “It’s not logical. It’s not a logical conclusion.
What do you think? Should licenses or permits be required for concealed carry? Why or why not?
