Kansas lawmaker leaves loaded handgun in committee room

High farce in Topeka on Thursday. On the same day college students testified about their fear of concealed weapons on campus, a member of the House acknowledged leaving a loaded handgun in a committee room earlier in the week.

Willie Dove, a Republican who represents Bonner Springs, forgot the .380 handgun he had set on a desk during a meeting of the House Education Committee on Tuesday. Dove told reporters he removed the gun from his ankle holster because his ankle was swollen. A secretary found the gun and turned over to Capitol police. Dove picked up the gun the following day.

In the aftermath, Republicans stated their support for the Second Amendment right to put people in danger. Rep. John Whitmer of Wichita compared Dove's carelessness to a motorist who is caught speeding. “Just because my behavior is bad you don’t take away my right to do something," he told Bryan Lowry of the Wichita Eagle. (We'll update if Whitmer introduces a bill to install voting machines at the state's prisons.)

Also on Thursday, college students and others spoke in support of a bill proposed by several moderate Republicans and Democrats to carve out college campuses from the "Guns virtually everywhere!" law passed in 2013. Colleges were given four years to comply with full conceal-and-carry rights on campus. Time's nearly up.

Read more: http://www.pitch.com/news/blog/20850297/kansas-lawmaker-leaves-loaded-handgun-in-committee-room