Tuesday, February 16, 1999
The University Daily Kansar
Section A·Page 5
Personal safety attitudes divide weapons bill debate
By Kristi Reimer
Kansan staff writer
At the center of a debate about the legalization of concealed handguns, is a divergence in attitudes toward personal safety.
Concealed Weapons Bill
Some Kansas residents would feel more secure carrying a gun in a purse or pocket, but others do not want to go through their days wondering who has a weapon.
Be at least 21 years old
Never have been convicted of a felony
To be licensed by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation to carry a concealed weapon, applicants must:
Never have been convicted of a drug-related or domestic-violence misdemeanor
"It could be that everyone will think they need a gun," said State Rep. Barbara Ballard, D-Lawrence, and assistant vice chancellor for student affairs at the University of Kansas.
Legislation that would allow individuals to carry concealed weapons is expected to go to the floor of the state House of Representatives this week.
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Have completed a weapons safety course
To be approved for a license, applicants must be at least 21 and must complete a weapons safety course. They must be free of felony convictions, and they must have no history of mental illness.
Carrying concealed weapons would be prohibited on university campuses.
Rep. L. Candy Ruff, D-Leavenworth, the bill's foremost supporter, has described the right to carry concealed weapons as a women's safety issue.
During testimony before the House Federal and State Affairs Committee last week, Jan Exby of Overland Park said she had been raped by an unknown assailant.
But Katherine Rose-Mockry, program director for the Emily Taylor Women's Resource Center at the University, rejected the idea that concealed guns were the answer for women.
"If we value women, then we must give them, not prevent them, from making choices on how to protect their lives," Exbay said.
"A majority of rapes and sexual violence occur between people who know each other, when it's less likely a woman would have a weapon with her," Rose-Mockry said.
Not be mentally ill or abuse alcohol or drugs
The center organizes self-defense workshops and educates women on how to protect themselves against sexual assault.
*We teach women to use their own bodies to avert or interrupt an
attack." she said.
Rose-Mocky also said she was concerned that if a woman used a weapon during a confrontation, she might be charged with a crime rather than the aggressor.
Jason Williams/KANSAN
Lt. Schuyler Balley of the KU Public Safety Office said his department was not taking a position on the bill, adding that it would not allow concealed guns at colleges or universities.
Rep. Tom Sloan, R-Lawrence, said he supported the bill for the same reason he supported abortion rights.
"I believe that government should allow honest, law-abiding citizens to have the maximum freedom and flexibility possible. That's why I'm prochoice," Sloan said. "Is this going to lead to gun fights at the OK Corral? I don't think so."
But other local legislators said that they would vote against the bill.
Sen. Sandy Praeger, R-Lawrence, said there were cases when law-enforcement agents had been killed or had killed someone else by mistake because the agents were carrying weapons.
"And these are people who were trained," Praeger said. "There will be more mistakes, more crimes of passion."
Ballard agreed.
"When people are in the heat of an argument, they do things that in cooler moments they would not do," she said.
Despite the active debate surrounding the bill, few legislators give it much chance. The House and Senate both passed a similar bill in 1997, but Gov. Bill Graves vetoes it. His press secretary, Mike Matson, has said Graves has not changed his mind.
Ballard said a poll of her constituents revealed that they did not support the right to carry hidden weapons.
"The governor is going to veto this," Sloan said. "I don't believe in wasting our legislative time. There are so many other issues we should be dealing with."
The full text of the House Bill 2240 is available at www.ink.org/public/legislative/bills/1999/2240.html.
— The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Study measures cyclists' safety
Krebs said that Lawrence had
"Students are one of the main groups of bicyclists in this community," she said. "They should take them into consideration when doing the study."
become more bicycle-friendly in recent months because of pressure from the community. She said that she hoped that the City Commission would continue to be concerned about bike issues after the April elections.
Holly Krebs, KU Enviros member and McLouth junior, said that she hoped students would attend the forum.
Students, city officials and community members will discuss renovating city streets to include bike lanes, road conditions for cyclists, connecting off-campus and on-campus bike routes, and possible renovations to Jayhawk Boulevard tonight at a public hearing.
By Nadia Mustafa
Kansan staff writer
City leaders consider renovating city streets to include bike lanes
Clay Comfort, chair of the City Commission's bicycle advisory committee, said that the committee would consider public input from tonight's meeting and present recommendations to the City Commission at a public study session March 17.
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Transportation Systems, Inc., based in Kansas City, Kan., will present the results of a $24,000 bicycle compatibility index study, which measured the level of comfort for bicyclists on 11 Lawrence roads — Naismith Drive and Louisiana, Vermont, Connecticut, Tennessee, Kentucky, W. Sixth, W. Ninth, 11th, 15th and 19th streets.
Krebs said that the study did not include Iowa or 23rd streets because the heavy traffic made it impossible to integrate bike transportation. But she said that there was a possibility of constructing off-road bike paths along those streets.
"The public response has been very good," he said. "I hope we can get some firm objective recommendations about which streets can be adapted for bike lanes."
Mark Bradshaw, KU Environs
Bradshaw said that he was not sure how long it would take to implement the options decided on at the forum but that minor changes such as lane changes could be completed by next year.
The forum, which is sponsored by KU Environics and the City of Lawrence, will meet at 6 p.m. at the Jawahiri Room in the Kansas Union.
member and Walnut junior, said that an example of a dangerous street according to the index would be one with four lanes and a speed limit of more than 50 miles per hour. He said that a safe street would be a one-way street with no parking, wide lanes and a speed limit under 20 miles per hour.
Bradshaw said the city had been increasingly responsive to the needs of bicyclists during the past year.
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"We've been through the wishful thinking stages, and now we're moving into the actual logistics," he said. "Now we just have to figure out the best places to start."
COLLEGE CORNER LAUNDRY Go KU!
Other issues will include transforming some two-lane streets into one-lane streets, replacing parking spots with bike lanes and decreasing the size of some streets to include bike lanes.
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