Criticizing those who ‘exploit’ tragedies, Kobach to hold Statehouse gun-rights rally
As he prepares to hold a gun rights rally at the Statehouse on Friday, the same day students nationwide are planning school walkouts for gun control, Kris Kobach has a few things to say.
Kobach, a Republican favorite for governor, said Wednesday that people are exploiting the mass school shooting in Parkland, Fla., for their own political benefit and to push an anti-gun agenda.
"People have used the Parkland tragedy as an excuse to try to challenge America's gun culture," Kobach said in a phone interview with The Star. "You hear statements from the left, and from some of the students who are being exploited by anti-gun interests, to say that firearms themselves (are) no longer legitimate in America."
Kobach, Kansas' secretary of state, is calling on gun advocates to rally on the Capitol steps at 10 a.m. Friday. The National Rifle Association and the Kansas State Rifle Association are co-sponsors of the rally.
The event will coincide with the national student walkout on the anniversary of the Columbine school shooting. In Kansas City, a student rally is planned for 11:30 a.m. Friday in Hyde Park, 3619 Gilham Road.
"The anti-gun interest groups will exploit these tragedies for their own political benefit and they're trying to use these tragedies to push an anti-gun agenda,” Kobach said. “And the policies they're advocating would have done nothing to stop these horrific killings in the first place."
Tyler Ruzich called Kobach’s comments polarizing and disgraceful. The 17-year-old Shawnee Mission North High School student is among the teenagers running for governor of Kansas.
Ruzich, who is a moderate Republican, said there will be a walkout for gun control at his high school Friday and he plans to rally with his peers.
"His comments are very, very far from constructive," Ruzich said. "And I think they're very, very far from being correct."
Archana Sundar, a 17-year-old senior at Blue Valley West High School, has helped organized a student walkout and then a rally after school.
Sundar said Kobach’s comments are inaccurate.
“When these tragedies occur, adults are not pushing children to organize something," Sundar said. “Adults aren't pushing children to walk out of a school to demonstrate and protest. We're doing it ourselves. Students who are being affected want change and so we organize things ourselves."
Kobach spokesman Moriah Day, who also is a high-ranking official with the Kansas State Rifle Association, said he’s expecting roughly 230 people to attend the Statehouse rally.
"It was kind of his idea originally," Day said of Kobach. "But Secretary Kobach wanted it to be a bigger deal than just a campaign event. He figured it would beneficial to have individuals come that supported gun rights, whether they supported him or not."
Day said he was sure "a few" people at the event would be openly carrying firearms.
"The KSRA and NRA don't necessarily encourage that," he said, "because the idea is for it to be a peaceful rally and not to cause anybody hesitation or anything."
This story was originally published April 18, 2018 at 6:14 PM with the headline "Criticizing those who ‘exploit’ tragedies, Kobach to hold Statehouse gun-rights rally."