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Hundreds Of Local Governments Request Gun Law Exemptions

The Kansas Attorney General's office has received notifications from more than 300 local governments stating that they're exempting themselves from a new state gun law.

The law requires that legally carried concealed weapons be allowed in public buildings, unless the buildings have security measures like guards and metal detectors in place. But the law also allows local governments like cities and counties to exempt themselves from the requirement, at least temporarily.

Senator Forrest Knox, a Republican from Altoona, helped author the bill. He's not surprised at the number of exemptions.

“A six-month exemption is just to write a letter to the attorney general. I mean, it’s so easy to do and it maintains the status quo, and we all like the status quo. So I expected a significant percentage,” Knox said.

The exemptions are six months in length for local governments. The state's universities and colleges have also exempted themselves from the law, for now.

Stephen Koranda is the managing editor of the Kansas News Service, based at KCUR. He has nearly 20 years of experience in public media as a reporter and editor.