A bill that prohibits the arming of domestic abusers emerged from the Kansas Senate Thursday as the lone piece of legislation restricting gun use.
The Senate voted unanimously for a bill making gun possession illegal for someone convicted of a misdemeanor for domestic violence within the last five years.
“I have been advocating for sensible gun legislation for the past two years. I am so proud that the Kansas Legislature has unanimously voted to take guns out of the hands of domestic abusers,” said Jo Ella Hoye, volunteer chapter leader of Moms Demand Action.
However, the Republican-majority turned back proposal after proposal from Democrats that were intended to promote gun safety in an approximately three-hour debate that came just weeks after the mass school shooting in Florida.
Democrats tried attaching their gun-control measures to a bill requiring Kansas to recognize all valid concealed-carry licenses and permits issued by other states. The so-called reciprocity bill passed the Senate 25-15.
The minority party pushed proposals on the Senate floor that would have established a three-day waiting period with a background check for gun purchases as well as a ban on bump stocks, which are attachments that enable semiautomatic rifles to fire faster.
The chamber also rejected a Democratic proposal repealing a law that allowed Kansans to carry concealed handguns without a permit. The measure would have taken the state back to a former law that would have required permits for concealed carry.
Another effort to let colleges and universities decide whether to allow concealed-carry on campus died, too. Nevertheless, the Democrats were glad to get the issue aired and saw hope in some narrow votes on their proposals.
“It’s important for the people of Kansas to know how people stand on these issues,” said Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley. “This gun issue is not going to go away.”
Hensley noted that the amendment on waiting periods and background checks received 17 votes, just four short of the number it needed to pass. Another amendment that would have banned bump stocks received 20 votes, just one vote short of passage.
“I see that as significant progress,” Hensley said.
The gun ban for domestic abusers also would apply to fugitives, undocumented immigrants and someone with a restraining order against them for threatening an intimate partner or their child.
The bill now needs to go back to the House to concur. The bill was amended in the Senate to make it legal to own throwing stars unless someone intends to use them unlawfully against another person.
