By NICK BUDD
Hays Post

At Thursday night’s city commission work session, commissioners heard a request from city staff to pass a resolution that would ban the open carrying of firearms in city-owned buildings.

In the past state legislative session, state lawmakers passed House Bill 2578 which prohibits local governments from enacting or enforcing laws that prohibit the open carrying of firearms within the state except in certain areas such as public school buildings.

However, Section Five of the bill allows building owners, including cities and counties, to prohibit concealed or open carry of firearms on their premises as long as there is proper signage that is approved by the Kansas Attorney Generals.

According to Hays Police Chief Don Scheibler, open carry is defined as “guns that are carried out in the open and exposed to the public.”

“Unlike concealed carry, open carry exposes the public to individuals who are potentially untrained with a firearm.” Scheibler said. “The public display of firearms may also alarm, frighten, or intimidate and/or make city employees or the public feel unsafe.”

Scheibler said city staff identified twelve city buildings where they would like the open carry of firearms banned including the airport, city hall and the Hays Welcome Center.

The city researched six comparable communities and found that four out of the six have already banned the open carry of firearms within city owned buildings.  The cities identified were Salina, Emporia, Junction City and Manhattan. Dodge City and Derby currently allow both the concealed and open carry of firearms in city buildings.

Commissioners agreed to move the item to next week’s regular meeting.