Bill would lower gun-carry age to 18

A bill introduced in recent days in the Kansas Legislature would, if passed, lower the age for legally carrying a concealed weapon to 18.

State Rep. John Rubin, R-Shawnee, said he requested House Bill 2538 to give people old enough to enlist in the military the right to carry a concealed handgun, provided they obtain a license.

Such licenses require an eight-hour handgun safety and training course.

Society has determined that at age 18, an individual is old enough to enlist in the military, receive weapons training and to go overseas and defend the country, Rubin said.

Last year, when Gov. Sam Brownback signed a relaxed concealed-carry bill into law, then-Kansas State Rifle Association President Patricia Stoneking said she regretted the legislation had not also lowered the age from 21 to 18.

The Kansas Board of Regents recently amended policies governing the Regents’ six universities to align with state law.

Beginning July 1, 2017, any individual age 21 or older who can legally carry a concealed handgun may do so on regents campuses, except in buildings with security measures to detect weapons.

—The Hutchinson News

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