With firearm suicides and homicides rising, Kansas lawmakers and activists want change
Gun deaths in Kansas are rising sharply — most of them not from high-profile violence such as mass shootings, but from quieter tragedies that unfold in homes and small towns across the state.
Since 2000, Kansas’ firearm death rate has climbed steadily, now outpacing the national average, partially driven by suicide. While lawmakers have passed legislation expanding access to guns, few new policies are addressing the growing toll.
Some legislators and advocates are now urging a shift: treat the crisis not as a political battleground, but as a public health emergency
“We tend to think of gun violence as mass shootings, but what’s really happening every day in Kansas is a steady drip of suicides and homicides that don’t make headlines but devastate families all the same.,” said David Carttar, a volunteer with the Kansas chapter of Moms Demand Action (MDA).
Personal concern to public advocacy
Carttar got involved in gun safety advocacy in 2016, when a looming Kansas law — often referred to as “constitutional carry”— threatened to allow concealed firearms in public spaces, including college campuses and hospital buildings.
Concerned for their daughter Isabel’s safety, he and his wife, Claudia, a teacher in Lawrence, joined Moms Demand Action and began traveling regularly to the Capitol in Topeka to speak out.
From 2020 to 2023, the state recorded no fewer than 16 firearm deaths per 100,000 residents each year — up from 9.3 two decades earlier. That shift represents an increase from roughly 270 deaths annually in the early 2000s to about 475 in recent years.
The surge has come alongside legislative changes expanding firearm access, prompting renewed scrutiny of how Kansas approaches gun policy and public safety.
“I probably go to Topeka at least two to three times a year to the state House,” Carttar said. “As a Kansan, I see myself as being involved in this movement, but also very much tied in with the history and political culture of Kansas.”
The 2025 legislative session continued to reflect Kansas’ emphasis on firearm access. Gov. Laura Kelly signed two bills into law: HB 2052 eases the path for young adults to upgrade concealed carry licenses, and SB 137 allows law enforcement to sell confiscated guns.
Meanwhile, Senate Bill 133, which aimed to promote safe firearm storage, stalled in committee without receiving a hearing or vote, underscoring the partisan barriers that block preventive gun legislation.
Kansas ranks 37th in the nation for gun law strength, meaning it has some of the least restrictive firearm laws, according to Everytown for Gun Safety. Neighboring Missouri, with similar regulations, ranks 41.
Fight on the floor
Rep. Jo Ella Hoye, a Democrat from Lenexa and former leader of the Kansas chapter of Moms Demand Action, has long been a staunch opponent of House Bill 2058, which lawmakers passed in 2021. The law lowered the minimum age to obtain a concealed carry permit from 21 to 18, including on college campuses, and expanded Kansas’ recognition of permits from other states. It also created a process for restoring gun rights to people with certain expunged convictions.
Although Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed that bill, the Legislature overrode it. Hoye argued the policy would create risks for younger Kansans who aren’t even old enough to legally buy a handgun from a licensed dealer.
“A big problem with that is that 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds are not old enough to legally purchase a handgun from a federally licensed gun dealer,” Hoye said. “Somebody has to straw purchase for them, give them a gun, or they have to go online and evade background checks in order to even get a handgun, which I just think is setting up our younger Kansans for trouble.”
In 2022, 736 firearms were recovered and traced to individuals under the age of 21 in Kansas, accounting for roughly 27% of all guns traced in the state.
Citing Kansas’ political climate and years of advocacy, Carttar acknowledged the difficulty of advancing gun safety legislation, but noted that the movement has still found success in blocking proposals it sees as harmful.
“We have not been in the past nine years very successful in promoting what we call good laws,” Carttar said. “But we have been quite successful in limiting what we consider bad bills, which are bills that seek to chip away at restrictions to possession and carrying of firearms.”
Suicide quietly claims more lives
One of the few proactive gun safety measures introduced in recent years was House Bill 2379, a voluntary “do-not-sell” list. Aimed at helping individuals experiencing mental health crises, particularly those at risk of suicide, the bill has been introduced repeatedly by Rep. Jarrod Ousley (D-Merriam) but has yet to reach a vote on the House floor.
The bill’s origin traces back to a conversation Ousley said he had in 2018.
“The idea came to me when a friend lost a friend to suicide by firearm. And that friend had attempted before. And when the two of us sat down together, we were like, how do we, you know, try to make something out of nothing?” he said.
Ousley has introduced the measure three times since, most recently as House Bill 2339 during the 2023–2024 session.
In 2023, suicides made up 67% of firearm deaths or about 318 out of 475 total firearm-related fatalities.
“We’re more affected by suicide than we know, but a lot of us don’t know it until we get involved in the movement or suffer a tragedy personally or through somebody we know,” Carttar said.
House Bill 2379 would have allowed Kansans age 18 or older to voluntarily request placement on a confidential “do-not-sell” list, managed by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI). Individuals could submit their request either to the KBI or through a licensed healthcare provider. Once registered, the person would be temporarily prohibited from buying firearms, although they could remove themselves from the list through a formal request.
Despite not reaching a vote in the House, Ousley said he has faith in advancing the legislation, which remains active in the House Committee on Federal and State Affairs for the next session.
“We could have pushed it for a vote. The chair could have brought it up for a vote, but there were still some questions that needed answers,” Ousley said. “And I’ve just got to do a little bit more work to reassure people that have a vote on that committee that, you know, this is what it appears to be. I’ll stick with it until we get something done.”
Ousley acknowledged that the challenge lies in navigating as a Democrat in the legislative minority.
“It’s tough for anybody in the super minority to get legislation pushed through. I mean, it’s tough for any legislator, let alone somebody in the super minority,” he said.
Gun safety isn’t anti-gun
House Bill 2379 drew dozens of testimonies both for and against, including opposition from Kari Sue Vosburgh of Kansans for Honest Government, who argued it infringed on Second Amendment rights.
“The idea that individuals would voluntarily place themselves on a government list to be denied their Second Amendment rights is unrealistic,” Vosburgh wrote. “This bill does nothing to prevent impulsive acts and creates unnecessary bureaucracy.”
Carttar pushed back on the notion that firearm safety reform stands in opposition to the Second Amendment and emphasized that promoting responsible firearm access and storage can coexist with constitutional rights.
“We [MDA] are pro–Second Amendment,” Carttar said. “We do not seek to overturn or negate that right — we just believe there are reasonable limits, and safe storage, that can save lives.”
Hoye echoed that sentiment, stressing that supporting gun rights and advocating for safety are not mutually exclusive, and noting that she exercises her Second Amendment rights.
“I myself am a gun owner. I support people’s gun rights,” Hoye said. “It’s just a matter of we need to come together and figure out how people are accessing guns who aren’t supposed to have them, and hold bad actors accountable.”
Tyler Kirby is a University of Kansas senior from Overland Park, studying journalism and political science.