TOPEKA — Olathe East High School senior Grace Springer told lawmakers her life “changed forever” when a classmate brought a gun to school in 2022, opened fire and injured an administrator and school resource officer.
The next day, she said, “I was terrified to go anywhere.”
“I worried that another shooting could happen to me at any time,” Springer said. “Grocery stores or movie theaters — nowhere I went felt safe.”
“No one deserves to live in a place where gun violence is a constant fear,” she added.
Members of the House Federal and State Affairs Committee are considering House Concurrent Resolution 5006, which would present to voters a constitutional amendment that recognizes the God-given right to own a firearm, ammunition and accessories. The proposal would apply a “strict scrutiny” to the right, invoking a legal term with the goal of blocking any future restrictions on gun rights. That means even armor-piercing bullets could be protected, according to testimony from proponents.
Springer, who said the constitutional amendment would put guns in the hands of felons and abusers, was one of two opponents to speak at a Feb. 5 hearing on the resolution, although opponents who submitted testimony outnumber proponents 32-13. The other opponent who spoke, Nick Reinecker, said the resolution doesn’t provide enough freedom for gun owners.
The resolution has the support of 67 sponsors in the House, as well as Attorney General Kris Kobach.
The proposed constitutional amendment refers to “a natural and fundamental right” to carry guns, which Kobach defined for committee members as “a God-given right, or if one doesn’t believe in God, then a right that is of the very essence of human logic and human nature.”
“It’s a right that government doesn’t create,” Kobach said.
Megan Hilbish, executive director of the Kansas State Rifle Association, said it was necessary to clarify the right to possess ammunition and accessories to ensure that guns could be used for safety and sport. She identified herself as a certified firearms instructor and competitive shooter.
“A firearm is a tool that is not just used for self defense,” she said. “It is a tool that can do a lot of really neat, impressive things, including the sports side of shooting.”
Rep. Dan Osman, an Overland Park Democrat, presented a challenge to supporters: Could any of them identify a law passed by the Legislature that infringes on the right to bear arms? No one offered an example.
“I am not aware of any that have infringed on our rights,” said Tammy Bartels, a Lawrence resident and director of the Kansas chapter of Women for Gun Rights. “But that does not mean that that will not happen in the future.”
Richard Condon, a U.S. citizen with a distinct Scottish accent, talked of his service in Her Majesty’s Armed Forces in the 1990s in Yugoslavia, as a private security contractor in Afghanistan, and as a law enforcement officer in Johnson County.
“No, I’m not James Bond,” he said, although no one indicated they thought he was. “What I am is a guardian.”
Condon asserted without offering evidence that he knows “for a fact” that members of a violent Venezuelan gang are present in Kansas.
“These gang members are known for their vicious and brutal tactics, giving no consideration to our laws or our law enforcement officers,” Condon said. “Swift and decisive legal action against criminal fire on possession should be your priority.”
