Kansas City adopts local approach to combat gun violence

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – Kansas City adopted two gun safety ordinances at a City Council meeting Thursday. The first bans switches that turn handguns into automatic weapons. The second bans minors from buying bullets without parental consent. Both are already against the law.

Some have questioned why the City felt the need to put these ordinances on the books, but Mayor Quinton Lucas says they give the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department a new way to take guns off the street.

“What’s wrong with having that additional tool?” Lucas said. “What’s wrong with letting our officers say, ‘I’m going to write you a ticket for an ordinance violation, too, and in the meantime, I’m going to take your gun switch away so that you can’t walk the streets with a fully automatic weapon?’”

Kansas City is taking a local approach to combating gun violence. Instead of relying on state and federal laws, Mayor Lucas wants to give local law enforcement a new way to get ahold of those weapons.

“We have the ordinance violation approach so that in each situation we know that charges can be filed, those devices can be taken off the streets, and that justice can be served long-term,” said Lucas.

The ordinances passed through City Council by a 12-1 vote. The lone “no” vote was from new councilmember, Nathan Willett.

“The proposed ordinance may in fact preempt state law,” Willett said. “This would lead us on a path toward a legal battle that would rack up hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees.”

“We believe in the legality of our laws,” Lucas said. “We’ve done a whole heck of a lot of studying in connection with them. We think these are best practices in keeping not just our community safe, but something cities around the country should use.”

According to KC’s daily homicide stats, the vast majority of murders are committed with a handgun. This past weekend, authorities said one shooting scene had more than 90 shell casings.

“We are seeing more and more shootouts with people with handguns that have been modified and are able to spray around three dozen rounds in an instant,” said Lucas. “That is causing more death. That is causing more harm in our community. It’s part of the reason we are flirting with records this year.”

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