KC mayor meets with White House officials on gun violence as city nears homicide record

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas met with White House officials on Wednesday over a proposed federal rule expanding background checks and other steps to control gun violence as the city approaches a record number of homicides in 2023.

The visit comes after Kansas City’s 177th homicide of the year over the weekend, just shy of the 2020 record of 182 killings. As city officials look for solutions to the violence, they have often been hamstrung by loose state gun laws enacted by the Republican-controlled General Assembly.

But in Washington, Lucas sees a potential new tool to keep guns away from those who already have a violent criminal record.

Federal law requires businesses selling guns to conduct background checks on buyers, but many guns sales online and at gun shows aren’t covered. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives wants to expand the definition of business to cover more firearms dealers.

The agency estimates that as few as 24,500 to as many as 328,000 sellers nationwide could be affected by the rule.

“In Kansas City, we are constrained at the state and local level … we need to look to tools from our federal partners,” Lucas told The Star.

Lucas said that because Kansas City police is controlled by a board of police commissioners almost entirely appointed by the governor and not by elected officials, some of the most aggressive steps city officials can take on gun violence is to encourage federal action.

“I actually think this is one of the more effective ways, under our current system in a state that seems uninterested in looking at other ways, more ways, that we can try and reduce gun violence – this is probably the best that we have,” Lucas said.

Lucas’ calls for action on gun violence have long been in tension with Jefferson City, where GOP lawmakers have expanded access to weapons and blocked restrictions. No license is required to carry a concealed weapon in Missouri, for instance.

But he’s found a more alignment on the issue in Washington with President Joe Biden’s administration.

The mayor said he met with Tom Perez, senior advisor and assistant to the president and director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, and with the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention.

The meeting came after Vice President Kamala Harris earlier on Wednesday announced a “Safer States Initiative” to aid states and cities in reducing gun violence. The initiative includes calling on states to establish their own gun violence prevention offices, require safe storage of firearms and mandate reporting of lost guns, and expand background checks.

Harris also spoke to a gathering of state legislators across the country to discuss gun violence. Kansas Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes, a Lenexa Democrat, attended, along with other Kansas Democratic legislators. It’s unclear whether legislators from Missouri participated.

“We’re up against some who would suggest a false choice, that is that you are either in favor of the Second Amendment or you want to take everyone’s guns away,” Harris said.

Lucas last week submitted a comment on the proposed ATF regulation, writing that the rule would only increase the likelihood of discovering a buyer’s criminal history. He noted Kansas City’s rising number of homicides.

“Many of the shooters involved in these heinous acts have been charged and convicted of felonies, which would be discovered during the course of a mandatory background check,” Lucas wrote.

The proposal has drawn pushback from Republican officials and gun rights groups. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey and Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach both signed on to a letter with 23 other state attorneys general urging the ATF to withdraw the rule.

“If the Bureau was serious about combating violent crime, it would focus on enforcing the laws that are already on the books to hold violent criminals accountable for their actions,” the letter says.

“That would be the type of work that could save lives. Unfortunately, the Bureau has instead targeted innocent people who sell firearms.”

With strong support for gun rights among Republican state legislators, local officials in favor of gun restrictions have few options at the moment other than federal action. For nearly 40 years, the General Assembly has retained for itself the power to regulate firearms.

An initiative petition campaign called Sensible Missouri in June submitted three proposed constitutional amendments. All of the proposals would grant Kansas City, Jackson County, St. Louis and St. Louis County authority to approve local firearms ordinances. Two of the versions would allow all counties to set their own rules, either by county leaders or a countywide vote.

It’s unclear whether the group will gather enough signatures to put at least one proposal up for a statewide vote.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.