Federal Court Tosses Challenge to Kansas Gun Law

WICHITA, Kan. — A federal judge rejected a challenge Friday to a Kansas law that makes it a felony for U.S. government workers to regulate guns and ammunition made, sold and kept only in the state, ruling that the gun control group that filed the suit failed to prove its members are directly harmed by the law.

U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson ruled the federal court lacks jurisdiction to consider the merits of the lawsuit because the Washington-based Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence didn’t show the state’s enforcement of the law inflicts on actual or imminent injury to any of its members.

In her 25-page ruling, Robinson granted the state’s motion to entirely dismiss the case without prejudice, meaning it could be refiled.

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt’s office issued a news release saying the statute will remain in force.

“This legal challenge lacked merit, and I appreciate the federal court’s ruling that the Washington, D.C.- based plaintiffs lacked standing to challenge this duly enacted Kansas law,” Schmidt said.

Attorneys for the Brady Campaign did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment on the ruling.

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