While legislators in many states are waging an all-out assault on their citizens’ right to keep and bear arms, Kansas lawmakers are working to bolster those rights.
House Concurrent Resolution 5020, currently under consideration in a state House committee, would amend the Kansas State Constitution to expand coverage of the state’s already strong right to bear arms protection. With more than 60 lawmakers listed as authors, the measure would clarify that the existing constitutional right would also include firearm components, accessories and ammunition, and specify that any future restrictions enacted would be subject to strict scrutiny by the courts.
“A person has the right to keep and bear arms for the defense of self, family, home and state, for lawful hunting and recreational use, and for any other lawful purpose, and such right includes the possession and use of ammunition, firearm accessories and firearm components; but standing armies, in time of peace, are dangerous to liberty, and shall not be tolerated, and the military shall be in strict subordination to the civil power,” the proposed amendment states. “The right to keep and bear arms is a natural and fundamental right. This right shall not be infringed. Any restriction of such right shall be subject to the strict scrutiny standard.”
Note that approval of the measure by the legislature and signing by the governor won’t automatically make the constitutional amendment the law of the land. If approved, the proposal would go before Kansas voters during November’s general election.
Per the legislation, the ballot question will include: “A vote for this proposition would recognize that the right of the people of Kansas to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed and clarify that the right includes the possession and use of ammunition, firearm accessories and firearm components. Such vote would also recognize the right to keep and bear arms as a natural and fundamental right. Any restrictions of such right would be subject to the strict scrutiny standard. A vote against this proposition would make no changes to the constitution of the state of Kansas with respect to the right to keep and bear arms.”
Before the amendment can go on the ballot, it must be approved by two-thirds of both House and Senate members and signed by the governor. If it makes it onto the November ballot, only a simple majority is needed to either approve or reject the amendment.
They have the numbers in the Kansas state legislature to make it happen. Gun Rights and Gun Control seems to be a factor of one party having a trifecta or veto proof majority in the legislature. All the states with permit less carry seem to have a Republican trifecta. All the states with AW bans and restrictive conceal carry seem to have a Democrat trifecta.
It’s great to see other states following Iowa’s lead in cementing RKBA in their state constitutions and in demanding that any and all issues concerning this are subject to strict scrutiny by the courts. Many states claim to respect the Second Amendment, but when viewed through the lenses of ordinary scrutiny, the citizens are often muzzled, if not totally disarmed. All the best, Kansas!
This^^^^.
Strict scrutiny is still judicial interest balancing. Any judge with a weak moral compass and well developed vocabulary can twist that to become disarmament. Text, history, and tradition as laid out in Bruen leaves less wiggle room.
I am wondering if Kansas should change the wording to reflect the recent U.S. Supreme Court Bruen decision and require that any laws are consistent with the history and tradition of the United States prior to 1830 as well as the meaning of the 2nd Amendment when it was enacted.
Exactly. The strict scrutiny standard is outdated and is now a step backwards. Delete that language.
The strict scrutiny standard needs to be put on politicians, judges and ideologues. That refuse to abide by the Bill of Rights. With appropriate punishment. For their acts of Treason against it.
Our country was not founded on the premise of judicial scrutiny over rights. It was founded on liberty, and the primary architect of our nation states that: “…rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will, within the limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add ‘within the limits of the law’; because law is often but the tyrant’s will, and always so when it violates the right of an individual.”
Where I applaud Kansas’ strengthening of the PROTECTIONS of rights, I encourage all people in ALL NATIONS to assert that RIGHTS are not created by or arbitrarily subject to laws.
If anything, the watershed ‘Bruen’ decision is strict scrutiny on *steroids*…
Big 2A Win For SAF & FPC!
Having studied the era of our founding,, it is clear that “young” people if that era never thought twice about possession and rightful use of arms. I’ve read of many fifteen to twenty year old young men availing themselves of the use of arms in the fight to evict the British rule and all it entailed. I also know from other study that as our nation expanded westward, first into the Ohio and Mississippi River valleys, “young” men and even women ofen availed themselves of the necessary use of arms both in defense of their families and communities but also in the provision of food for their households.
COming into the present I’ve read of a number of incidents where youngsters as young as SIX have effectively used firearms in the protection and defense of their families in their own homes. I am also a firearms instructor and have had children s young as six on my line over two day instruction events. They handle it well, are safe, pay attention, learn quickly, and have fun.. as they become excellent marksmen. I”ve had far fewer “incidents” with the under twelve years old segment of students than I’ve had with the older “more mature” punks 12 to about 18 who gotta show they are Something. I am convinced the solution to young folks misusing firearms is to get them on the range starting at about six and teach them safe ad effecive use of these tools.
Ny Dad talked about when he was a young lad in school.. one room schoolhouse in rural eastern Nevada in the 1920’s/30’s. All the kids brought their rifles and sometimes shotguns along in their horses when they rode to school. Recess and lunch time had competitions out back of the schoolhouse. Many of those ksids were excellent shots by the time they were ten. His little sister made tthe older boys mad because at seven she could regularly beat the older boys in the daily tin can execution drills. Just one more part of “life” as normal.
In the days of the Jim Crow democRat Party Black Americans and others rated below dirt. For today’s Jim Crow mentality democRat Party it’s
Gun Owners that rate below dirt. Fortunately some lawmakers see the tactics from the worst part of History being used by the democRat Party and are doing something about it.
What about the two kansas natives who made suppressors and the kansas attorney general refused to support them, using the Kansas law, when the feds came to arrest them, what about that??
I’m voting No because it has the wording “Shall not be Infringed.” We see how well that worked out for the United States Constitution.
‘Shall Not’ is code talk for Fckem anyway You Can.
Welcome to free America.
The chair is against the wall
John has a long mustache.
Kansan here. Governor Kelly will likely sign this. I agree with other posters that it’s needs to include language citing Bruen.
Wish the rest of the country was as smart as the right thinking people of Kansas! We can only hope the dumb one wake up and not woke up!
Tionico, I like your story about teaching the younger kids. I can remember taking my guns to school and nobody thought anything about it. WE put them in out locker because we were planning to go to someone’s farm after school pheasant hunting or deer hunting. Heck, it could have even been a teachers property and we would have all put our guns in his classroom in a corner. You never ever heard about school shootings back then either.
Twenty-seven states have some form of permitless carry.
Two thousand of the nation’s 3,100 counties are Second Amendment sanctuaries.
More than 81.4 million Americans own guns.
Almost like a majority, d’ya think?