It took longer, but Colyer, Orman respond to yes-or-no questions on guns, gun control

When The Star recently asked candidates for Kansas governor to answer a few yes-or-no questions about guns and gun control, all but two responded quickly and completely.

The two who didn’t: Gov. Jeff Colyer and independent Greg Orman.

The Star circled back to them last week, and this time they answered the questions.

“I think any new gun regulations should first and foremost respect American's 2nd amendment rights, while also focusing on preventing those who have mental health issues and shouldn't have access to guns from getting them,” Colyer said in an email.

Colyer, like fellow Republicans Kris Kobach and Ken Selzer, said he did not support raising the age limit from 18 to buy an AR-15 or other semi-automatic weapon.

Among the Republicans, only Jim Barnett said he would back raising the age limit.

And all but Barnett said they see the AR-15 as a legitimate hunting weapon.

Colyer wrote: “The fact is that the AR-15 is a versatile hunting weapon that has a variety of uses, including as the best tool for controlling the growing problem of invasive wild pigs that are estimated to cause over a billion dollars of damage to livestock and crops every single year.”

Orman sided with the Democrats who answered the questionnaire last month, saying he supported setting a minimum age of 21 to buy an AR-15 or other semi-automatic weapon. He also disagreed that the AR-15 is a legitimate hunting weapon.

Orman and Colyer also split on President Donald Trump’s proposal to give teachers bonuses for carrying guns.

Orman said Kansas expects its teachers to be teachers, not security guards.

“I do not believe we should offer bonuses to teachers for carrying guns,” he said in a email. “I do support programs that award bonuses to teachers for being outstanding educators, and I support funding for school districts to improve their security and safety programs.”

Colyer, who last month said Trump’s proposal “may be (a) good solution,” said in an email last week that the proposal was “an issue best decided by local communities, who know the needs better than anyone else.”

“If locals want to pursue that route, we are happy to discuss that approach,” Colyer said. “However, I just finished another school tour and those I spoke to were focused on different solutions, including some of those outlined in the School Safety bill the House is currently considering.”

Earlier this month, Republican House leaders proposed the Kansas Safe and Secure Schools Act. GOP leaders billed the measure as helping the state board of education and other state agencies to create security and safety standards while also creating a grant program to improve school safety.

This story was originally published March 20, 2018 at 1:48 PM with the headline "It took longer, but Colyer, Orman respond to yes-or-no questions on guns, gun control."