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Greyson Imm
In the wake of the March 4 shooting at Olathe East High School, Kansas state senator Cindy Holscher proposed a Kansas state senate bill banning the manufacturing or possession of “ghost guns” — unfinished firearms without a serial number.
The bill, introduced March 14, was modeled after a similar bill signed into law aiming to ban ghost guns in Delaware. Both bills specifically target 3D printed guns or guns assembled using online-order “gun kits,” like the one used in Olathe East’s shooting.
What specifically makes these guns dangerous is their easy accessibility for unregistered gun owners — such as past convicted felons, domestic abusers, young people and people with mental health struggles — as well as their lack of traceability, according to Holscher.
“Those guns need to be banned because [their lack of a serial number and registration] obviously makes it more difficult to trace them and to determine who is committing crime,” Holscher said.
She was motivated to address this problem in her state because she experienced the effects of gun violence secondhand after her son, a freshman at Olathe East, was at school when the shooting occurred.
This incident has made gun violence a more personal issue, and one that’s closer to home, according to East Against Gun Violence President and senior Emma Kate Squires.
“Olathe East has made it really apparent that Kansas is not safe from gun violence,” Squires said. “We never were. Even before the Olathe East shooting, the number one leading cause of death in youth 18 or younger was still gun violence — it just wasn’t occurring at schools. Olathe East just made a broader community very fearful.”
The issue of ghost guns is a relatively new problem, gaining prominence in the past few years as more online outlets allow for the sale of “do-it-yourself” gun kits.
Due to their untraceability, ghost gun statistics are hard to keep track of. When just focusing on federal prosecutions, Everytown For Gun Safety Research revealed that there were 2,513 ghost guns connected to criminal activity over a period from 2010 to 2020.
“The numbers [of confiscated ghost guns] have just skyrocketed, even in the last couple years,” Student Resource Officer Tony Woolen said.
Holscher and others emphasize that the issue of gun violence is a nonpartisan cause, and that specific actions such as banning ghost guns are purely for keeping guns away from people incapable of handling them.
“The Johnson County District Attorney, Steve Howe, he is a second amendment [supporter] and pro-people-being-able-to-have-guns, but his posture is that the people [using] ghost guns that he’s had to deal with are ones that are not the most law-abiding people,” Woolen said.
Similar sentiments are echoed by Squires, who says that the bill isn’t an attack on gun ownership rights for the average citizen, but rather a piece of common-sense legislation keeping guns out of the hands of young people.
“Most of the time, if you [ask] somebody, ‘Hey, do you think that a 15-year-old should be able to 3D print a gun in their basement?’ the answer is going to be no,” Squires said.
Despite the nonpartisan appeal made by these individuals, the bill is not expected to go very far in the near future, according to Squires.
“[Holscher’s] bill is modeled after a similar one that was presented in Delaware, and that one got shut down pretty quickly by gun rights groups,” Squires said. “As they generally do with these types of bills, they don’t approve of it, because it’s ‘too restrictive.’”
Among these second amendment groups is the National Rifle Association, who has a prominent influence in state legislature according to Holscher. The NRA refused to comment.
“The NRA has a pretty tight grip on the legislature,” Holscher said. “They donate to several different campaigns. They also put out their ranking sheet at election time, and in the past, citizens of Kansas have paid attention to those rankings. Right now too, it is kind of tough because we still have a lot of legislators who will do what the NRA tells them, so they have been very unwilling to move things forward.”
In addition to backlash from conservative lawmakers and gun rights activists stalling the bill since its introduction into the senate, the fact that it was introduced later on in session makes it difficult to pass at the moment. Holscher remarks that it’s difficult to propose a bill like this so late into session.
In terms of general gun violence reform and action at East, Squires has worked to establish the Be SMART program, educating parents and students about proper gun safety and storage for gun owners.
“This isn’t something that Shawnee Mission East has heard about and just done nothing about. We have worked with Principal [Jason] Peres, and he’s been really great about getting the Be SMART program out there, which is about gun safety and storage, targeting parents and ensuring that they know how to safely secure their guns,” Squires said. “While this is really disheartening, know that East is doing something, we’re working towards change.”
Action that concerned East students can take, both Holscher and Squires say, is getting in contact with local lawmakers. This can include staying up to date with local legislation being proposed, talking to lawmakers over the phone or email or even going to the Capitol to voice your concerns.
“Taking time to come over to the Capitol [is crucial] because the NRA people come to the Capitol all the time and tell legislators to not vote for these bills,” Holscher said. “On the flip side, I do feel that legislators listen more intently to students in the long term, honestly.”
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