BELLEVUE, Wash., Feb. 18 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and other opponents of a proposed statute that will allow citizens to carry concealed handguns for personal protection are "historically and emotionally wrong" on the issue, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) said today.
"Gov. Sebelius draws the line at allowing retired law enforcement officers the right to defend themselves," noted CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. "Is she telling all other Kansas citizens that their lives and the lives of their families are less valuable? It certainly sounds that way."
The proposed Personal and Family Protection Act, sponsored by Rep. Candy Ruff, a Democrat, and Rep. Gary Hayzlett, a Republican, would allow Kansas residents to arm themselves against criminal attack. A story in the Wichita Eagle recounted how Ruff heard from two women in her district who had been raped, and began carrying guns to defend themselves from further attack, whether legal or not.
"Politicians of the stature of Gov. Sebelius walk safely because they have armed security," Gottlieb observed. "Alas, her female constituents enjoy no such luxury. The time has come for anti-gun politicians like Sebelius to change their attitudes about personal protection, and stop trying to enforce their prejudices on the citizens they are elected to serve."
Kansas is one of four states that do not have some form of concealed carry. Gottlieb said it is long past the time that Kansas citizens join the ranks of Americans in 46 other states, including 37 with right-to-carry laws, whose right to self protection is fully recognized.
"I am continually astonished at the rhetoric from those opposed to the self-defense rights of the citizens they serve," Gottlieb observed. "Hysterical predictions of more blood in the streets and increased risk to police officers and children have been proven to be just plain nonsense. Law-abiding, legally armed citizens don't habitually murder cops or kids. Thugs and lunatics who are already illegally armed will do that, no matter what the law says, and everybody knows it. Why allow them a low-risk working environment?
"It's time for the bright rays of safety to shine down on the Sunflower State," Gottlieb said.
With more than 650,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is one of the nation's premier gun rights organizations. As a non-profit organization, the Citizens Committee is dedicated to preserving firearms freedoms through active lobbying of elected officials and facilitating grass-roots organization of gun rights activists in local communities throughout the United States.
