Almost six years and 50,000 concealed-carry licenses later, concerns about allowing Kansans to hit the streets packing heat in their pockets and purses have proved largely unfounded, says the Kansas City Star. While there have been instances of permit holders being charged with gun-related crimes, Kansas has been spared any high-profile spasms of violence.
Since 2007 when Kansans began to legally carry concealed guns, the Violence Policy Center in Washington, D.C., has chronicled 350 incidents across the U.S. where 471 people were killed by someone with a concealed-carry permit in shootings that were not self-defense. None of those incidents occurred in Kansas. Those who fought for years to give Kansans the right to carry concealed firearms say they never expected anything else. “They are not out to be cowboys,” Patricia Stoneking said. “They are law-abiding, responsible folks who take the responsibility of gun ownership very seriously.” Stonekingis , a licensed firearms instructor and president of the Kansas State Rifle Association.