Guns are kids’ No. 1 cause of death. Meanwhile, Kansas gave concealed carry to teens
From Buffalo, New York, to Uvalde, Texas, we — and our children — are witnessing violence and suffering in a dystopian America enabled by lawmakers. Lives are lost to preventable gun violence every day. We should feel safe going to the grocery store, the park, watching a movie, dropping our kids off at school, sending our students to college.
Gun violence is the leading cause of death for children in the United States. Our nation is collectively traumatized by this crisis. We know what can happen when teenagers have easy access to guns. Nineteen children and two teachers were shot and killed in an elementary school just days ago. We shouldn’t have to live like this, and our children and teachers don’t deserve to die like this.
Last year, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt requested a bill to be introduced that became the vehicle to lower the age to carry a hidden, loaded handgun from 21 to 18. This is the same bill that was pulled off the calendar in 2018 after a 19-year-old shot and killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
Republican majorities in the state House and Senate overrode Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of this senseless and dangerous bill, which expanded access to guns for high school teens and students on college campuses. What if instead of leading the way, Schmidt told legislators that the legislation went too far? What if he said, “Wait, 18-year-olds are not even old enough to legally purchase a handgun from a federally licensed gun dealer?” Instead, he fought for this policy, and if he were governor, he would have signed the bill that put young Kansans and their families at risk. He knows that teenagers can still buy handguns at gun shows or go online to arrange a private sale in a back alley, because federal and state laws don’t require background checks on all gun sales.
We know what’s next. The leaders of the gun lobby run the same playbook in Texas and Kansas. They got what they wanted in both states by weakening gun laws for teenagers. Now, they want guns in K-12 classrooms. They want to arm the same teachers whom the GOP just spent the last legislative session lambasting. Schmidt doesn’t want to fund education, but he expects teachers to carry concealed, loaded guns to take out active shooters in their classrooms? Enough.
We’ve seen tragedy after tragedy involving people under 21 with guns, including here in Kansas at least three times in the last six months — twice in Manhattan’s Aggieville and then at Olathe East High School. What impact can I have, as one of 125 Kansas House members, even when the odds are stacked against me? We only needed one more vote to sustain the veto. What if I could have changed one mind?
How can those of us in a position of power watch what unfolded at Robb Elementary and still be the same? I ask my colleagues in the Legislature — and Derek Schmidt — to join the fight to end this crisis and prevent more tragedies. And if they won’t, they should get out of the way.
This story was originally published June 2, 2022 at 5:00 AM.