Proponents tout virtues of carrying concealed weapons in Kansas
Friday 20 February 2004
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Supporters of concealed weapons in Kansas say allowing law-abiding citizens to carry handguns would help lower the state's crime rate and give women a tool to protect themselves against being raped.
Kansas is one of only four states in the nation that do not allow concealed weapons. A bill before the House Federal and State Affairs Committee would require the Kansas Bureau of Investigation to grant a permit to all residents who qualify and pay a $150 application fee.
Rep. Candy Ruff, D-Leavenworth, a primary sponsor of the bill, told the committee Thursday that women who have been raped are carrying concealed weapons already, even though it's against the law.
Ruff said she has talked to about 20 rape victims in Kansas and they all say they will never allow themselves to be caught off-guard again.
"One woman told me that other than losing a child in death, there's nothing worse than being raped,'' Ruff said in an interview. "After they've been attacked, that's when they want to protect themselves.''
Sen. Phil Journey, R-Wichita, told the committee that allowing people to carry concealed weapons would be a deterrent against violent crimes. Criminals would be more leery of attacking someone, he said, if they think that person is carrying a weapon.
He said statistics show that millions of times each year, law-abiding citizens are using guns to protect themselves from attackers.
"People who are going to get these permits are not the ones we need to worry about at all,'' Journey said.
Among supporters who testified Thursday was a woman who said she was raped in 1989. She said she did not tell anyone, including law enforcement agencies, because she was too afraid.
"I lived scared for a long time,'' said the woman, whose name and hometown were not revealed. "Then I met my present husband and he taught me how to shoot a gun. I now own a handgun that I carry concealed.''
Another supporter, Rep. Peggy Long-Mast, R-Emporia, told of a woman who was raped in the early 1970s, then years later became a legislator. Several years after her attack, the legislator was in a hearing when her attacker appeared before that committee to testify, Long-Mast said.
"She was terrified all over again and in a place that separated her from her family and those that she would normally look to for care and protection,'' Long-Mast said. "Two thoughts came to mind: He would never violate her again. She would never allow it.''
But under Kansas law, Long-Mast said, the legislator is not allowed to take training and carry a concealed gun for her protection.
"I want to emphasize that she does not want to retaliate, but she wants to feel safe and able to defend herself,'' she said. "Please do not deprive her of that.''
The committee expects to vote on the concealed carry law on Monday.
Concealed carry is HB 2798.
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Kansas Legislature:
http://www.kslegislature.org
