When the Legislature passed concealed carry in 2006, the law had exceptions. Last year, lawmakers changed the law so that bars, churches, day care centers and schools without the no-gun signs now have an open door to firearms. Sen. Phil Journey, R-Haysville, explained the change as necessary to prevent confusion among concealed-carry holders about which places were off-limits. But this was no tweak of the law. As I wrote in my Friday column: “It sounds more like concealed-carry proponents got their camel’s nose under the tent and decided to push on inside.”
As I conclude: “Guns have their place. But when did we decide that bars, churches and schools are among those places? God help us.”
Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., is really getting on the nerves of Democrats. The former Democratic running mate for Al Gore not only has been campaigning for John McCain but has been publicly critical of Barack Obama about Iraq and Israel, the Associated Press reported. Obama and Lieberman spoke on the Senate floor recently, and Lieberman said he agreed to refrain from personal attacks on Obama. But Democrats are still irritated and a bit puzzled. “I hope that Joe will realize that even though he’s a friend of John McCain’s and feels differently on the war, there are so many other issues Barack stands for that have been a part of Joe’s career,” said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.
“The disconnect between what Democrats are saying about Iraq and what is actually happening there has reached grotesque proportions,†columnist Charles Krauthammer wrote. “Democrats won an exhilarating electoral victory in 2006 pledging withdrawal at a time when conditions in Iraq were dire and we were indeed losing the war. Two years later, when everything is changed, they continue to reflexively repeat their ‘narrative of defeat and retreat’ (as Joe Lieberman so memorably called it) as if nothing has changed.
“It is a position so utterly untenable that John McCain must seize the opportunity and, contrary to conventional wisdom, make the Iraq war the central winning plank of his campaign.â€
Kansas Democrats will be showing up on more ballots this election year, but can they make gains on election night? When the dust had settled from last week’s filing deadline, Democrats had 154 candidates for congressional, legislative and State Board of Education races, compared with 135 in 2004, the last time the full Legislature was up for re-election. Meanwhile, Republicans have lined up 196 candidates, compared with 234 in 2004. Most of the new Democratic candidates are running for the House, where the GOP holds 78 of 125 seats.
Amid all the fuss about Kansas’ current governor, columnist Louis Jacobson of the Web site Stateline.org recently pondered the state’s 2010 gubernatorial contest. He suggested “Kansas Democrats seem happy with Lt. Gov. Mark Parkinson†(in photo). Jacobson also named such possible GOP contenders as Sen. Sam Brownback, Reps. Todd Tiahrt and Jerry Moran, and Kansas Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt. This isn’t just about who gets to live in Cedar Crest, as Jacobson noted: A Democratic successor to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius could help keep the GOP-led Legislature from redrawing the 2nd and 3rd congressional districts to make them more resistant to Democrats (current Reps. Dennis Moore and Nancy Boyda, respectively).
When the Legislature passed concealed carry in 2006, the law had exceptions. Last year, lawmakers changed the law so that bars, churches, day care centers and schools without the no-gun signs now have an open door to firearms. Sen. Phil Journey, R-Haysville, explained the change as necessary to prevent confusion among concealed-carry holders about which places were off-limits. But this was no tweak of the law. As I wrote in my Friday column: “It sounds more like concealed-carry proponents got their camel’s nose under the tent and decided to push on inside.”
