Who Needs Assault Weapons? Kansans, It Seems

By ERIC BARTON

Last night, NBC News aired this story about the recent gun violence in Chicago and offered up this quote from Police Superintendent Jody Weiss:

“Why in the world do we allow citizens to own assault rifles?”

Funny timing, Jody. Just yesterday, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius signed a bill into law that allows Kansas residents to buy those very weapons.

Sebelius’ signature on Senate Bill 46 allows Kansans to buy silencers, sawed-off shotguns and fully automatic machine guns. Supporters of the bill argued that the 1933 Kansas ban on such guns kept collectors from these prized items. Sebelius, according to the Associated Press, didn’t elaborate on her reasoning for singing the bill, and a spokeswoman didn’t immediately return a call from The Pitch this morning.

The bill actually began its life as a proposal to increase the penalty for those who scrape serial numbers off guns, according to this article in the Fort Scott Tribune. Thanks to the miracle of the legislative amendment process, the law now allows firearms collectors access to things so often wanted in target practice, such as silencers and fully automatic AK-47s.