TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas conservative firebrand Kris Kobach, who appears in parades riding a jeep with a replica machine gun mounted on back, failed Monday to land the coveted endorsement from the National Rifle Association in the Republican primary race for governor.
Instead, it went to Gov. Jeff Colyer, who immediately touted his “A” rating from the gun rights group ahead of the state’s Aug. 7 primary
But Kobach pointed to his own “A” rating from the NRA and announced his endorsement by Gun Owners of America, which describes itself as a “no-compromise” gun-rights group.
Gun-rights advocates are a key constituency for Republicans in Kansas, which has loosened gun laws over the past decade so that no state permit is required for adults 21 and older to carry concealed weapons. The Republican candidates’ rhetoric contrasts sharply with Democratic candidates’ embrace of gun-control policies backed by their party’s liberal base, even if they’ve favored gun-rights measures in the past.
“The Second Amendment is the load-bearing wall of the Constitution,” Colyer said in a statement expressing pride at his NRA endorsement. “It must be protected or the whole institution will come crumbling down.”
Kobach has relished critics’ consternation over the jeep he uses in parades with a replica machine gun. The vehicle also is painted with a U.S. flag design.
“The right of law-abiding citizens to protect their families is non-negotiable,” Kobach said in a statement. “I will never back down in defense of those rights.”
David Kopel, an adjunct law professor at Denver University, said Gun Owners of America is more “pure ideologically” and less willing to accept legislative compromises to make incremental progress in broadening gun rights. He said it’s possible for
