HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach says his involvement in a new firearms manufacturing firm in northeast Kansas stems from his interest in hunting and shooting and not to set up a challenge to federal laws.

The Hutchinson News reports that Kobach is listed as a shareholder in Minuteman Defense, which hopes to begin making rifles by the end of the year in Overland Park. The firearms will be marketed to law enforcement in Kansas and nationwide.

Kobach helped write a 2013 state law that states that Kansas-made firearms that have the proper stamping and never leave the state are free from federal regulation. He said Friday the law wasn’t written for personal gain but to reaffirm the constitutional right to bear arms.