Concealed-Gun Bill Vetoed by Governor

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius vetoed a bill to allow Kansans to carry concealed handguns, saying the measure would have made the job of law enforcement officers more difficult.

The bill would have required the attorney general’s office to issue concealed-gun permits to anyone 21 or older who was a U.S. citizen, paid a $150 application fee, had no mental illness or drug or alcohol addiction and completed eight hours of training.

In her veto message issued in Topeka, Sebelius, a Democrat elected in 2002, said that if the bill became law, “police officers, highway patrolmen, sheriffs, and deputies in Kansas would be forced to assume that any person they stop could have a firearm.”