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AN ACT concerning crimes and punishment; relating to criminal use of
  weapons; amending K.S.A. 1996 Supp. 21-4201 and repealing the ex-
  isting section.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
  Section 1.  K.S.A. 1996 Supp. 21-4201 is hereby amended to read as
follows: 21-4201. (a) Criminal use of weapons is knowingly:
  (1)  Selling, manufacturing, purchasing, possessing or carrying any
bludgeon, sandclub, metal knuckles or throwing star, or any knife, com-
monly referred to as a switch-blade, which has a blade that opens auto-
matically by hand pressure applied to a button, spring or other device in
the handle of the knife, or any knife having a blade that opens or falls or
is ejected into position by the force of gravity or by an outward, downward
or centrifugal thrust or movement;
  (2)  carrying concealed on one's person, or possessing with intent to
use the same unlawfully against another, a dagger, dirk, billy, blackjack,
slung shot, dangerous knife, straight-edged razor, stiletto or any other
dangerous or deadly weapon or instrument of like character, except that
an ordinary pocket knife with no blade more than four inches in length
shall not be construed to be a dangerous knife, or a dangerous or deadly
weapon or instrument;
  (3)  carrying on one's person or in any land, water or air vehicle, with
intent to use the same unlawfully, a tear gas or smoke bomb or projector
or any object containing a noxious liquid, gas or substance;
  (4)  carrying any pistol, revolver or other firearm concealed on one's
person except when on the person's land or in the person's abode or fixed
place of business;
  (5)  setting a spring gun;
  (6)  possessing any device or attachment of any kind designed, used
or intended for use in silencing the report of any firearm;
  (7)  selling, manufacturing, purchasing, possessing or carrying a shot-
gun with a barrel less than 18 inches in length or any other firearm de-
signed to discharge or capable of discharging automatically more than
once by a single function of the trigger;
  (8)  possessing, manufacturing, causing to be manufactured, selling,
offering for sale, lending, purchasing or giving away any cartridge which
can be fired by a handgun and which has a plastic-coated bullet that has
a core of less than 60% lead by weight; or
  (9)  possessing or transporting any incendiary or explosive material,
liquid, solid or mixture, equipped with a fuse, wick or any other detonat-
ing device, commonly known as a molotov cocktail or a pipe bomb.
  (b)  Subsections (a)(1), (2), (3), (4) and (7) shall not apply to or affect
any of the following:
  (1)  Law enforcement officers, or any person summoned by any such
officers to assist in making arrests or preserving the peace while actually
engaged in assisting such officer;
  (2)  wardens, superintendents, directors, security personnel and keep-
ers of prisons, penitentiaries, jails and other institutions for the detention
of persons accused or convicted of crime, while acting within the scope
of their authority;
  (3)  members of the armed services or reserve forces of the United
States or the Kansas national guard while in the performance of their
official duty; or
  (4)  manufacture of, transportation to, or sale of weapons to a person
authorized under subsections (b)(1), (2) and, (3) and (5) to possess such
weapons; or
  (5)  retired law enforcement officers, who prior to such retirement had
20 or more years of service.
  (c)  Subsection (a)(4) shall not apply to or affect the following:
  (1)  Watchmen, while actually engaged in the performance of the du-
ties of their employment;
  (2)  licensed hunters or fishermen, while engaged in hunting or fish-
ing;
  (3)  private detectives licensed by the state to carry the firearm in-
volved, while actually engaged in the duties of their employment;
  (4)  detectives or special agents regularly employed by railroad com-
panies or other corporations to perform full-time security or investigative
service, while actually engaged in the duties of their employment;
  (5)  the state fire marshal, the state fire marshal's deputies or any
member of a fire department authorized to carry a firearm pursuant to
K.S.A. 31-157 and amendments thereto, while engaged in an investigation
in which such fire marshal, deputy or member is authorized to carry a
firearm pursuant to K.S.A. 31-157 and amendments thereto; or
  (6)  special deputy sheriffs described in K.S.A. 1996 Supp. 19-827,
and amendments thereto, who have satisfactorily completed the basic
course of instruction required for permanent appointment as a part-time
law enforcement officer under K.S.A. 74-5607a and amendments thereto.
  (d)  Subsections (a)(1), (6) and (7) shall not apply to any person who
sells, purchases, possesses or carries a firearm, device or attachment
which has been rendered unserviceable by steel weld in the chamber and
marriage weld of the barrel to the receiver and which has been registered
in the national firearms registration and transfer record in compliance
with 26 U.S.C. 5841 et seq. in the name of such person and, if such person
transfers such firearm, device or attachment to another person, has been
so registered in the transferee's name by the transferor.
  (e)  Subsection (a)(8) shall not apply to a governmental laboratory or
solid plastic bullets.
  (f)  It shall be a defense that the defendant is within an exemption.
  (g)  Violation of subsections (a)(1) through (a)(5) or subsection (a)(9)
is a class A nonperson misdemeanor. Violation of subsection (a)(6), (a)(7)
or (a)(8) is a severity level 9, nonperson felony.
  (h)  As used in this section, ``throwing star'' means any instrument,
without handles, consisting of a metal plate having three or more radiating
points with one or more sharp edges and designed in the shape of a
polygon, trefoil, cross, star, diamond or other geometric shape, manufac-
tured for use as a weapon for throwing.
  Sec. 2.  K.S.A. 1996 Supp. 21-4201 is hereby repealed.
  Sec. 3.  This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
publication in the statute book.