President Judy Sherry called the meeting to order at 4:09 pm at Roe Park. This was the first in-person meeting since February 27, 2019, with 39 people in attendance.
Judy gave a reminder that the Heartland Coalition Forum will be virtual on Monday, October 11. Sponsor letters are being mailed this week. If you would like to help preparing thank you letters, please contact Jan Brunks at [email protected].
Barb McNeile reported that Lock It For Love is now doing in-person events. To date, 4,000 free gun locks have been distributed at 153 events. If you would like to volunteer for LIFL, contact Barb at [email protected]. You will receive SignUp Genius emails with events for which to sign up.
Donna Euston received the Pat Russell Volunteer of the Quarter Award for her outstanding volunteering for GAGV.
Carla Oppenheimer reported on the Legislation Working Group whose purpose is to join like-minded legislators and organizations to work for common sense gun laws.
Gun bills filed this year:
- HB 2058 was passed by the legislature, and vetoed by Governor Kelly. The legislature overrode the Governor’s veto. HB 2058 recognizes all out of state concealed carry permits and allows those who have been licensed to carry a firearm lawfully in Kansas. It also allows individuals who are 18 to 20 to apply for a Kansas concealed carry permit.
- HB 2089 standardizing firearm safety education training in school programs in school districts was vetoed by Governor Kelly.
Gun proposals for 2021:
- HB 2251 requires relinquishment of firearms pursuant to certain court orders related to domestic violence. MOM’s is planning to build a coalition to support the bill.
- HB 2251 requires relinquishment of firearms pursuant to certain court orders related to domestic violence.
- HB 2454 creates additional violations of criminal discharge of a firearm for discharges that are near a school or projectiles that leave the property from which they are discharged. This is specifically for unincorporated cities.
Ways to advocate and keep informed:
- check alerts on MOMS Facebook page to track legislation and be informed of hearings in order to attend or provide written testimony.
- Call legislators when bills come up for a vote, especially for those districts in Fed/State.
- Determine where law enforcement stands to work with them on certain bills.
Carol Gee continued the “Say Their Names” initiative by saying the names of gun violence victims in the Kansas City Metro area since our last meeting.
Program Committee member Al Frisbee introduced Kansas legislators who updated us on the past legislative session: Ethan Corson, Jerod Ousley, Linda Featherston, Mari-Lynn Poskin, and Vicki Hiatt, Kansas Democratic Party Chair. They encouraged us to reach out to our legislators, tell them you are a constituent, avoid form letters, tell your story, and keep them brief. After this year, all legislators have a record on gun legislation – call them on it. A Q & A session followed the presentations.
Program Chair Julie Young announced the next three GAGV meetings will be in person at Colonial Church:
July 26: How Religion Views Guns, with KU sociology professor Margaret Kelly, Ph.D.
August 23: Messaging Matters, PLUS an exciting announcement!
September 27: Gun Violence is Like a Deadly Virus, with Denise Dowd, M.D., from Children’s Mercy Hospital, and Loren Leib, M.P.H., epidemiologist and board chair of Women Against Gun Violence, an allied arm of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
October 11: 8th Annual Community Forum Webinar, 9:00 am – 12:30 pm
Gun Violence: Strategies to Curb This Public Health Epidemic. Register on website at moksgagv.org
Minutes submitted by Charlotte Davison, Secretary
* John Ussery, Julie Young, Al Frisby, Tom Young meeting planners shown in photo