Automatic weapons now legal in Kansas
9:15 p.m. Tuesday, April 22, 2008
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Randy Alfrey likes guns.
"Guns have been an American tradition since this country was found," he said.
They've been a tradition in his family too. For as long as he can remember, he's owned guns.
"I've owned shot guns and rifles since I was 12 and hunted with my dad and uncles," he said.
That's why he supports a new law signed by Governor Kathleen Sebelius allowing Kansans to legally own automatic weapons, sawed-off shotguns, and silencers beginning on July 1st. Kaw Valley Gun Club Owner Kevin Ketter is thrilled just thinking about the money he'll make renting out those new weapons.
Senate Bill 46 now law
Read the full text of the bill regarding the allowance of these weapons here.
"It's gonna bring in more revenue for me," Ketter said. "I sell a lot of pistols and handguns out here, but it's just something new that people can come in, say 'I've never shot an automatic.' Well they can come in here and they don't have to go out and buy one."
Even though the law allows you to own automatic weapons, there's a lot of paperwork involved -- for dealers and buyers. So much that Kevin doesn't even know if he's going to sell them at the Kaw Valley Gun Club. Other guns are different. To legally buy, say, a pistol, you can leave the store with it the same day, after answering a few questions and passing a background check. You'll have to do a lot more to get an automatic weapon.
"They have to go through a background check to get the gun," he said. "That goes through the K.B.I. (Kansas Bureau of Investigation) and A.T.F. (The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms), fingerprinted, they're gonna have to get a letter from law enforcement. It's going to be a two to three month ordeal."
And expensive. Ketter says the guns could cost more than $5,000. Many movies glamorize automatic weapons and sawed off shot guns being used to kill people, but Kevin says most people use guns for sport as a hobby and tradition. One that will soon have a new twist in Kansas.
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