(Updated to include a reference Kansas background check bill and include comment from House majority leader)
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly said Saturday she would support universal background checks on gun sales in an effort to curb shooting deaths.
Addressing a couple hundred people at a Moms Demand Action Rally on the steps of the Capitol, Kelly urged action to a deal with the “staggering” number of gun deaths.
“We the state and as a nation must take action,” Kelly said to applause and cheers. “I join you in being sick and tired of repeated gun violence.”
She criticized the lack of action by “policymakers nationwide” who refuse to pass “sensible gun measures like universal background checks to end the bloodshed.”
“To think that the awful human being who walked into your child’s school and opened fire – to think he got that weapon without so much as a background check is unconscionable.
“There can be no loopholes when it comes to background checks. We must act on this as a state and as a nation.”
Kelly tied the issue directly to Kansas where she noted the state’s rank in the gun death rate.
Citing the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, Kelly said Kansas ranks 17th nationally in the gun death rate at nearly 16 per 100,000 people.
“Seventeenth, while not the worst, means there’s much room for improvement,” Kelly said.
The governor pointed out that neighboring Nebraska rank 42nd on the list and Iowa was 41st. Other surrounding states like Missouri was sixth and Oklahoma was13th.
Nevertheless, Kelly said Kansas needs to do better.
“We have to understand why Kansas has so many more guns deaths than comparable states and consider what preventative saftey-minded changes might make sense here in our home state,” she said.
“We can have great respect for the 2nd Amendment and still institute common-sense changes,” she said. “In Kansas, there’s so much work to do.”
Kelly’s latest comments on guns reflect an increasingly sharp tone toward addressing gun violence.
Hours after the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, Kelly issued a statement calling for “common sense gun-safety laws” without taking a policy position.
After her remarks, Kelly noted that it’s up to the Legislature to pass any laws aimed at curbing gun violence.
“Congress is almost closing to doing it, so if they can do it, we should be able to do it,” she said.
The Democratic-controlled U.S. House has already passed a bill expanding background checks on gun sales, but it has idled in the Senate.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has signaled he wants to consider background checks this fall.
In the statehouse, Democratic state Rep. Stephanie Clayton introduced a bill requiring background checks of gun sales at gun shows, flea markets or the internet. It was never acted on by a House committee.
House Majority Leader Dan Hawkins criticized the governor for exploiting a national tragedy to call for gun control.
“The answer to these tragedies is not to take away the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens to defend themselves,” Hawkins said in a statement.
“I am dedicated to holding the line against radical gun-ban activists and I am confident the Republican caucus agrees.”
Hawkins and other Republicans believe the issue on gun violence centers on mental health.
“There is a mental health crisis in our nation,” Hawkins said.
“The two shooters responsible for the most recent violence had vastly different political beliefs but shared severe mental health issues,” he said.
House Speaker Ron Ryckman Jr. shared a similar view.
“We need to take a more integrated approach that pulls together resources from our community mental health centers, schools, law enforcement, hospitals, safety net clinics, and physicians,” Ryckman said recently.
”When the right services are provided at the right time,” he said, “we can hope to prevent these types of tragedies in Kansas and prevent further tragedies in our nation.”
