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Anti-Gun Violence Group Files Suit Over KS Gun Law

A new Kansas gun law is being challenged in court. The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which is based in Washington, D.C., has filed a lawsuit against Kansas because of a new state law that declares guns made and kept in Kansas are exempt from federal gun laws.

The new state law is called the “Second Amendment Protection Act.”

"The law should not be called the Second Amendment Protection Act," says The Brady Center's Jonathan Lowy. "It should be called the 'Gun Violence Preservation Act.' Because this law nullifies life saving gun laws, this law will place the lives Kansans at risk of death or injury." 

Lowy says the new Kansas law could prohibit background checks on gun buyers and allow people prohibited from owning firearms to have them.

The lawsuit was filed Wednesday morning in U.S. District Court in Kansas City. It names Governor Sam Brownback and Attorney General Derek Schmidt as defendants.

J. Schafer is the News Director of Kansas Public Radio at the Univeristy of Kansas. He’s also the Managing Editor of the Kansas Public Radio Network, which provides news and information to other public radio stations in Kansas and Missouri. Before joining KPR in 1995, Schafer spent 10 years as a commercial radio and TV newsman. During his career, he's filed stories for nearly every major radio news network in the nation including ABC, NBC, CBS, AP, UPI, the Mutual Broadcasting System, NPR and the BBC. This seems to impress no one. At KPR, he produces feature stories, interviews and newscast items and edits the work of others. In the fall of 2000, he performed contract work for the U.S. State Department, traveling to central Asia to teach broadcast journalism at newly independent radio stations in the former Soviet Union. One of his passions is Kansas; learning about and promoting the state’s rich heritage, people and accomplishments. Schafer gives presentations about Kansas to various organizations around the state to remind residents about our awesome history and incredible people. A native of Great Bend, he studied journalism and mass communications at Barton County Community College and at the University of Kansas. He was also an exchange student to Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany. The “J.” in J. Schafer stands for Jeremy, but he doesn’t really care for that name. He also enjoys the pretentiousness of using just a single initial for a first name!