Go to Church and pray because about 70 or so people are struck by lightning every year. The number of people harmed by civilian owned NFA weapons (machine guns, short barrel shotguns, etc...) is O in most years.

I find it sad that an adult would write such alarmist tripe in order to alleviate a misguided fear. A pen in the hand of a liar will do more damage than a good persons gun ever will. If you seriously worry about someone shooting you, I suggest you purchase a firearm and train with it often. However, if that is not for you, dont try and impose your weakness and fear on those of us who would fight when confronted by evil. It is not about the tool, just like your pen doesnt make you a writer a firearm doesnt make a person good or bad. It is about the purpose and choice people put behind the tool.

to MR. Ross Stewart
If you do not wish to be shot with a sawed off shot gun or a silenced weapon then may I suggest not trying to harm, rob, or kill anyone that owns one.

I'm happy to see that my home state of Kansas is continuing to allow their residents greater liberties with regards to firearms while most other states are restricting them. While I personally feel that owning a machine gun is impractical and unnecessary as a civilian, it is nice to know that I have the option.

It may take a year or two, but people will realize that whether this law passes or not, nothing will really change. The concealed carry laws in Kansas didn't turn every street into the O.K. Corral like many reactionaries thought it would. Chances are good that this new law won't turn our state into a war zone either.

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Mailman, you make a good point. The truth of the matter is these things are legal in most states and there is no problems with them at all.

Yet time and time again, dishonest or ignorant people claim the same things about how they fear they will be shot or the streets will run with blood. Everytime a new state passes right to carry laws, a few self rightious people fear monger about how there will be gunfights everywhere. The only thing that happens is that crime goes down.

Some people dont care about the facts they are committed to ideas that have failed and they are unable to move on. In all honesty that means people like Mr. Stewart is not concerned with the safety of others, they use that as a disguise to mask their own fears and emotional hopes for an unrealistic idea that has failed.

Nice job failing to even mention the bill number or quoting anything directly from it.

The problems caused by guns throughout this entire country are not the result of people who legally purchase, register, and train with them. Also, its amateurish to use scare tactics by mentioning silencers and sawed-off shotguns. The vast majority of owners have some sort of small handgun or a hunting rifle.

The problems are caused by criminals who could care less about 'gun control' laws becuase they plan on using guns to commit crimes anyway.

I'm far from being a "gun nut" as Mr. Stewart so eloquently put it, but I own one and enjoy living in a state that still recognizes this right.

Don't break into my house some night and you'll never have to see it.

Like any good reporter today, Mr. Stewart has made selective use of the facts. Yes, the Kansas STATE legislature has passed a new law legalizing the ownership of machine guns, silencers and short barreled shotguns. However, FEDERAL law still requires that those that wish to legally purchase a machine gun or silencer pass a myriad of background checks as well as pay multiple fees. I don't know if these laws apply to short shotguns. My point is that people are heavily scrutinized well BEFORE they ever legally own one of the aforementioned weapons. Furthermore, events like NIU, Columbine and North Hollywood clearly demonstrate that determined criminals will get their hands on whatever guns they want, regardless of a particular gun's legality.

Wow, where were you people when the U.S. congress and senate were metaphorically raping habeas corpus and Due Process? Yet another example of american citizens (or rather, students here) going nuts over a freedom that maybe pales in comparison to say, being held indefinitely without charge or judicial oversight of the executive branch for search and seizure?

Since the National Firearms Act of 1934, automatic weapons, rifles and shotguns with a barrel length under 18", silencers and anything else labeled a "distructive device," have been heavily regulated by the federal government. The Federal Firearms Act of 1938 and the Gun Control Act of 1968, further regulate these weapons.

Although I have not checked for several years, I am quite certain you will not find any criminal use of any weapon which has been licenced under these acts.

Unlicensed weapons, however, are another matter.

As far back as 1986, a Lawrence Police Officer advised me that there was a house in east Lawrence where you could buy any illegal weapon you wanted. I would hope that that operation has been closed down, but these illegal weapons are available despite the Kansas law banning them!

The question really is, do you fear a person who has been investigated and licensed more than you fear the criminals who import or manufacture illegal weapons, modify legal weapons to be illegal, or steal regulated weapons from places such as National Guard armories or the DEA? Remember the recent news that more guns are being lost by or stolen from the DEA.

I share the bewilderment expressed in several of the other comments. Why does Mr. Stewart find it so objectionable for law-abiding adult citizens who have undergone a federal background check, paid a tax to the BATFE, submitted fingerprints, and been approved by the local chief law enforcement officer to possess NFA items?

According to federal law, all of the above criteria must be met prior to taking legal ownership of a short-barreled shotgun or silencer. The proposed Kansas bill will merely "allow" residents of this state the opportunity to undergo that process if they wish.

Mr. Stewart also opines, "I just don’t want someone to shoot me. Is that too much to ask?"

I don't want someone to shoot him either. However, you can be shot just as easily with a shotgun that has an 18 inch barrel as you can with one that has a 15 inch barrel. How does the proposed bill increase the likelihood that Mr. Stewart (or anyone else) will be shot by any firearm?

The author also insists that no one "needs" a short-barreled shotgun. That opinion is his prerogative, but it is irrelevant in the context of exercising a Constitutionally guaranteed right. Unless I'm using my firearms to harm someone else, why I choose to have them is no one else's business.

I love the bill of rights!

I need a machine gun to ward off zombie invasions.

Has everyone lost their minds? No one needs an automatic weapon! NO ONE! American's are obsessed with their guns. Seriously, give me one good reason for a machine gun with a silencer.

Silencers are required in some countries if you go to a shooting range. If you are against a silencer, I suggest shooting a .308 without one. Even with ear protection, they are freakin loud. I shoot at a private range, and with a silencer and the other 20 people not firing don't have to stand 100 yds away to keep there hearing.
As far as machine guns go, not one duty officer has
ever been killed with a machine gun....ever. I have shot one before they were legal...so they will be used by someone wether or not there is a law!!! Do you think a criminal who is going to shoot someone will consider not shooting that person because the gun they are using is illegal? If someone has made up their mind to kill someone with an silenced sawed off machine gun...they will kill regardless of laws.
BTW who can afford a machine gun? you have to go through a vigorous amount of liscense and checks to even get one!!
I wouldn't worry about sawed shotguns either. You are more likely to survive a shot because the shot is spread out. (meant for killing varmits easier rabbits, squirrels, not cops or you)

Stop wining!!!!!!!!!! Most people complain that we need abortion rights, gay rights....but when gun rights come into play, Democrats and far Left Liberals seem to think that the only freedoms on their agenda are worth protecting.

Oh And to Ross Stewart (author). No one is going to shoot you. No gangs or terrorist are out there in Kansas looking for a sawed off, or a machine gun to kill people. They want a small pistol because the pistol is versatile, easy to hide, get rid of, easy to use, heck even easy to shoot while driving!! If someone does ever shoot you..it will most likely be with a cheap 9mm. And no one is going to use a machine gun to protect their home. Everyone uses a pistol for the same reason as above. It's just a fact.