The Kansas House and Senate have passed legislation that would allow residents to carry concealed firearms without a permit. The bill is now headed to the desk of Governor Sam Brownback. Currently, Kansas requires eight hours of training before someone can carry a concealed firearm.
Kansas would be the fifth state to allow concealed carry without a permit.
“Carrying a gun is a lifestyle,” said Republican Rep. Travis Couture-Lovelady. “The government should trust its citizens.”
All states allow some form of concealed carry, but the NRA says only Alaska, Arizona, Vermont and Wyoming allow it everywhere in the state without a permit, though Montana allows it without a permit outside of cities, which is most of the state. In West Virginia, lawmakers passed a bill, but Democratic Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin vetoed it.
The NRA and the Kansas State Rifle Association support the new bill, while the Brady Campaign opposed it. Of course.
Kansas already allows residents to open carry without a permit or training.
“Kansans already have two documents granting them the right to concealed carry — the Constitution of the United States and the Kansas Constitution,” Couture-Lovelady said. “That should be all they need.”
After Brownback signs the bill, and there is no reason to think that he won’t, Kansas will still continue to issue permits so that residents can carry concealed in the other states that recognize Kansas’ permits.
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