Kansas legislators look poised to loosen the state's gun rules yet again, says the Kansas City Star. After broadening rules about locations where Kansans can go with a firearm in their belt or purse, and challenging local authorities wanting to ban guns in certain places, lawmakers want to waive training requirements for the concealed-carry crowd. It's the latest in a mounting series of gains against gun control in the state. Gov. Sam Brownback hopes that an increasingly firearm-friendly environment helps draw gun makers and jobs to the state.
The Brownback administration has been trying to lure gun makers to Kansas, urged on by conservative lawmakers who believe that easing gun restrictions could make the state more attractive to manufacturers under legislative assault elsewhere. “We wouldn't be in the game if it weren't for our openness to guns and the Second Amendment,” said Pat George, Kansas commerce secretary. While gun makers say they're fleeing states that passed tougher firearms laws, they have yet to choose Kansas. At stake is a piece of an industry that churns through billions of dollars each year and employs tens of thousands of manufacturing workers.