By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Many Barton County residents use the courthouse in downtown Great Bend to conduct government business, from paying taxes to serving as jurors. It may have come as a shock to see a citizen carrying a firearm outside the courthouse earlier this month. But Barton County Director of Operations Matt Patzner said the courthouse has to follow the rules.
"The rule that we're dealing with is the fact that you're allowed to open carry in the courthouse," he said. "So, essentially, him doing that is completely legal, and there's nothing we really can do about it. Obviously, we want to keep employees feeling safe, so we'll take every precaution we can. If we have to need to have extra sheriff's deputies over here just to keep an eye on him, then we'll do everything we can. As far as restricting him from carrying a firearm in here, we can't do it just because it's legal."
Kansas State Statute 75-7c10 states there are some restrictions to the state's open carry laws, including subsection four, which states, "any courthouse, except that nothing in this section would preclude a judge from carrying a concealed handgun or determining who may carry a concealed handgun in the judge's courtroom." Subsection five states, "any polling place on the day an election is held."
However, there are exceptions to the exceptions. Patzner explained that, because the courthouse does not have manned metal detectors, those who need to use the building are still legally allowed to carry personal protection.
"If you're restricting guns in the courthouse and everybody is going through that metal detector, then everybody's going through the same thing," he said. "You're not coming in and feeling unprotected without your gun, essentially, because everybody is without their gun. I guess metal detectors are the only way you can do that legally, in the state of Kansas, in a courthouse."
The protections of the Second Amendment, Kansas open carry laws, protection for voting laws, and early voting only complicate the matter further. Patzner said the county continues to examine the issue.