Open Carry in Kansas

[MtGun44]

A KS Attorney General's opinion has forced the city of Overland Park (biggest of
the KS side suburbs of KC, MO) to officially legalize open carry of handguns.

http://joco913.com/news/overland-park-oks-open-carry-of-weapons/

Interesting. I wonder what the surrounding 10 or so smaller KS cities will do?
The AG opinion is pretty clear that they may not ban open carry, only regulate
the mode, and manner. I wonder if they have instructed their officers to not
respond to 'man with a gun' calls if there is no suspicious behavior or whether
they will harrass and arrest on various grounds like 'creating a public nuisance'
or 'disturbing the peace', etc?

Inch by inch, we recover our civil rights guaranteed by the Constitution as
a practical matter.

:grin:

Bill

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

Good luck , from our experience , it was ruled that it was in fact legal to open carry any were in the state that did not conflict with the GFSZ gun free school zone law around 20 years ago
actually it had never been illegal in Wisconsin and that judgment was that local law could not supersede state law .


our former governors' way around passing concealed carry (he vetoed it twice and called in some favors when it looked like the vetoed was going to be over turned with 2/3 majority) was to suggest that anyone who had need of a pistol could carry it openly , it took a bunch of very brave people to test it be arrested and be dragged thru a trial to be found innocent , then sue the city that arrested them and get a hefty judgment , finally after enough of these our AG wrote a opinion paper to law enforcement that it most certainly was not illegal and they should stop detaining people unless other behavior was present. this still didn't stop it police still heard gun and sent many cars to respond , they still arrested or detained illegally , but finally the DA's caught on and the charges would get dropped after a few days.

then they added extra clarification in act 35 and act 51 , 35 gave us concealed carry , 51 made it legal to transport a gun openly in a car without a license
now you can carry as you please , still have to watch out for the GFSZ unless you have a CCL but you can open or concealed carry with a CCL

finally things are getting to where they should be police understand a gun , isn't a reason to arrest.

[Recluse]

Bill,

That's good news, real good news! We lived in Olathe and OP in the mid/late 90's. We (I especially) love Kansas City and I've made it my "adopted home town" kind of how Rush Limbaugh did with Sacramento.

When we were living there, we found that Johnson County conservatives were more concerned with being conservative over taxes than anything else. Lots of nouveau riche there who could've cared less about guns--I used to get a lot of snide comments about the NRA sticker on my pickup and on my wife's car.

It's gratifying to see that JoCo is getting more into the "true conservative" mindset.

Anytime we ventured west into the rest of the state (exception of Lawrence), it was almost like being back home in west Texas as far as both the actual landscape and political landscape went. :)

It's late September, going into October, and this is the time of year I loved the most in KC. Here in Texas, it's just stinking hot.

And, we still can't open carry. . . legally.

:coffee:

[MtGun44]

Recluse,

The conservatives took over in the 90s, then were pushed back by the RINOs and now
seem to have steadily defeated the majority of the RINOs, plus we have a pretty decent
conservative as a Gov., Sam Brownback. My biggest beef with him is that he is pro
illegal immigration. The Sec. of State is a REAL conservative and real solid on border
control, illegal voting and such - Kris Kobach, a friend.

Wichita is very anti-gun, OP not too far behind, most of the KS burbs are not too strong
on gun rights, but getting better. I am seeing significant attitude adjustment and
acceptance now that lots of CCW folks out there. It is getting slowly accepted,
and the years of no problems with armed citizens has really put nails in the coffin
of the "blood will run in the streets" crowd. I think OC may help this even more.

OC will be traumatic for some, we will see what happens with it. I may do some just
to check out the issue, although I may wait until I retire since an arrest, even without
valid grounds and immediately recinded will affect my employment.

I think that we are winning bit by bit, and slowly PROVING that armed citizens are
NOT the problem.

Bill

[km101]

Glad to see that Ks. is coming around. Maybe it will spread to other states. Here is Texas we have to suffer with concealed carry still. But at least we can carry a gun in a vehicle now (in most counties) and be legal. I have heard that Oklahoma is in the process of passing OC, so maybe it will trickle down.

[1Shirt]

The problem with open carry in so many areas is the anti gun attitude of the citizen on the street. It is akin to young boys not being able to have a pocket knife (a former rite of passage) so to speak. Attitudes regarding both guns and knifes have changed drasticly since I was a kid. I am of course talking about being in a rural area. Cities are hotbeds of liberal anti's.
1Shirt!

[thx997303]

Open carry doesn't really need to trickle down. It's legal in at least 40 of the 50 states.

[gray wolf]

Well here in Maine you strap it on and go about your business.
Loaded of course, unloaded in a vehicle and in plain sight,
Whatever suites you with a C C L

[bruce drake]

One thing I liked about Maine growing up before the taxes went through the roof with the influx of people from the South (MA and NH) was the open carry. Dad always had either his S&W 686 or his 1911 on his hip and no one batted an eyelash. He'd take it off his hip if he was visiting the town hall, post office, courthouse or the bank and store it in the truck but it would go back in as soon as he was done with the "Government Work."

Bruce

[MtGun44]

That's cool. I have seen and done it in Arizona, but not yet in KS.

Bill