Kris Kobach (R. KS)

From the Leavenworth Times editorial board today:

Guns should be kept safely and securely. The news that U.S. Senate candidate Kris Kobach had four guns stolen from his truck in Wichita earlier this month underscores the importance of treating firearms with respect and care. “Secretary Kobach always has at least one firearm with him for personal protection,” his campaign spokeswoman, Danedri Herbert, wrote in an email to the Wichita Eagle. “In this instance he was transporting long guns to attend a recreational shooting event. He was under the impression that the Drury Hotel garage was under 24 hour surveillance.” In this case, perhaps, Kobach might have wanted to trust more than his “impression,” especially when deadly weapons were involved. He might have also wanted to trust the Wichita police, who have specifically asked drivers not to leave guns in their cars because of recent thefts. Not all hotels allow firearms, we understand that. Everyone is concerned about liability. But if firearms can’t be safely and securely stored outside of a vehicle, perhaps they shouldn’t be part of a trip. In Kobach’s case, he no doubt has friends and supporters in the area who would be more than happy to secure his firearms for the duration of his visit. The difficulty here is that stolen guns are much more likely to be used by those with nefarious intent. In other words, Kobach’s desire for safety and sport may well have ended up making Wichita less safe for those who live and work there.

Here’s more context on that story:

A police report lists the guns as a Beretta XC sporting clays shotgun worth $1,600, a TriStar Viper sporting clays shotgun worth $700, a Glock 42 .380 worth $550 and a Minuteman Defense carbine rifle with scope worth $3,600. There was also $165 in damage to the passenger front window. The total loss was listed as $6,615. The police report states that the crime happened sometime between 7 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. Saturday. Wichita police have previously highlighted the issue of gun thefts from vehicles. They have asked gun owners to stop leaving their weapons in vehicles. There were 255 guns reported stolen from vehicles in Wichita in 2019. “These criminals that are out there breaking into cars, they’re not looking to steal that gun for lawful reasons. They’re going to use it for other criminal activities,” police Lt. Scott Brunow previously said. When Kobach left office as the secretary of state, an unsecured .45-caliber pistol was found in a filing cabinet. An FBI investigation was also launched into 1,000 rounds of ammunition that went missing after they were purchased during Kobach’s tenure. Kobach is running for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat held by retiring Sen. Pat Roberts. He participated in a radio debate Saturday morning in Wichita where candidates were asked two questions related to gun control. The debate was live-streamed on Facebook by Republican Women United. Kobach said he would support a national law compelling states to recognize concealed carry licenses from other states. He also said he wants a federal law making it easier for gun owners to buy and own suppressors, and he opposes red flag laws, which allow law enforcement to go through judges to temporarily confiscate guns from people considered to be a danger to themselves or others.

This idiot has a real shot at being the GOP candidate in this upcoming Senate race. But first, he has to prove he hates transgender people the most:

Former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, U.S. Rep. Roger Marshall, and Bob Hamilton, the owner of a plumbing business, have all attempted to outflank each other in terms of who is most opposed to transgender rights, even as the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that LGBTQ workers are protected from workplace discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Kobach, the presumptive frontrunner, has promised that, if elected, he would introduce legislation to withhold Title IX federal funds from schools that allow transgender students to participate in women’s sports, citing a lawsuit brought by three cisgender female track athletes from Connecticut who claim they’ve lost opportunities as a result of having to compete against transgender females. “It’s important to remember these trans athletes destroyed the dreams of female athletes who trained their whole lives for the honor of winning that championship only to have it snatched away by a biological male,” Kobach says in a nearly five-minute web video posted to his campaign’s YouTube channel. In the ad, Kobach also compares the fight over transgender rights to the battle over same-sex marriage, and says conservatives need to take action to ensure they don’t lose another battle in the culture war. “It’s time to take a stand for what’s right and what’s fair. Let’s face it. People who won’t stand up for their own daughters won’t stand up for yours,” Kobach, who has five daughters, says. Tom Witt, the executive director of Equality Kansas, denounced Kobach’s proposal. “In the past four years we have had five bills introduced in the Kansas Legislature that single out transgender and gender-nonconforming children…and now Kobach is taking this attack on little kids national,” Witt told the Wichita Eagle. “He is clearly hostile to LGBT people and has no place making laws for us.” Marshall has launched his own ad attacking Hamilton by claiming he “bankrolled a transgender rights group,” based on Bob Hamilton Plumbing’s membership in the Mid-America LGBT Chamber of Commerce. Hamilton’s former company joined the chamber in 2016, a year before he sold it. But Hamilton has his own ad claiming Marshall’s ad is false, and reiterating his opposition to transgender people using the bathroom matching their gender identity. “I’m a plumber. Public bathrooms stay separate,” Hamilton says in the ad. “NO TRANSGENDER BATHROOMS.”

On team blue, Dr. Barbara Bollier (D. KS) has been endorsed by the Human Rights Campaign and it’s the hateful bull shit Kobach and his primary opponents are pushing is exactly why she left the GOP and became a Democrat. She explains more in this e-mail I received from former presidential candidate, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D. NY):

Barbara Bollier (D. KS) My name is Barbara Bollier, and I’m running for U.S. Senate in Kansas. I’m a physician, a wife, a mother, and a public servant. I’d like to take a few minutes to introduce myself and share a bit more about why I’m going to win this race. But before I do, I’m going to ask you to donate $5, $25, whatever you can spare, to help me turn this seat blue—and take back the Senate. Let me start by saying: I used to be a Republican. I’ve been in Kansas politics since 2010, serving first in the Kansas House of Representatives, then in the State Senate. As a doctor, I’ve always looked at what the facts tell me, and tried to find common sense solutions to our problems. I earned a reputation as a leader who could work with folks on both sides of the aisle to deliver results. But I found that the Kansas Republican party was losing its way. In the State Senate, I was alienated for my support of reproductive rights, Medicaid expansion, and funding for K-12 schools. I was tired of the Kansas GOP’s hard-line rhetoric, its contempt for compromise, and its obsession with putting political power before children and families. When the Kansas GOP adopted anti-trans language as part of its party platform in 2018, I’d had enough. I could no longer be complicit as the Republican party became the party of extremism. I left the GOP, and I haven’t looked back. Republicans have held both Senate seats in my state since the Great Depression—but this year, we can change that. The latest polls have me leading my likely Republican opponent, Kris Kobach, by one point. And with the support of groups like EMILY’s List, End Citizens United and this Off the Sidelines community, we’ll have the resources to flip this seat—and with it, flip the Senate. My campaign has our biggest fundraising deadline yet on June 30, and my team tells me we’re coming up short on our goal. Can I count on you to contribute $5, $25, $50, or whatever you can afford to help me WIN this race and flip the Senate? I’m deeply grateful for your support, Barbara

Click here to donate to Bollier’s campaign.