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Session of 1999
          HOUSE BILL No. 2541           By Committee on Federal and State Affairs           2-26          

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  9             AN  ACT concerning certain crimes; relating to criminal use of weapons;
10             amending K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 21-4201 and repealing the existing
11             section.
12      
13       Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
14             Section  1. K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 21-4201 is hereby amended to read as
15       follows: 21-4201. (a) Criminal use of weapons is knowingly:
16             (1) Selling, manufacturing, purchasing, possessing or carrying any
17       bludgeon, sandclub, metal knuckles or throwing star, or any knife, com-
18       monly referred to as a switch-blade, which has a blade that opens auto-
19       matically by hand pressure applied to a button, spring or other device in
20       the handle of the knife, or any knife having a blade that opens or falls or
21       is ejected into position by the force of gravity or by an outward, downward
22       or centrifugal thrust or movement;
23             (2) carrying concealed on one's person, or possessing with intent to
24       use the same unlawfully against another, a dagger, dirk, billy, blackjack,
25       slung shot, dangerous knife, straight-edged razor, stiletto or any other
26       dangerous or deadly weapon or instrument of like character, except that
27       an ordinary pocket knife with no blade more than four inches in length
28       shall not be construed to be a dangerous knife, or a dangerous or deadly
29       weapon or instrument;
30             (3) carrying on one's person or in any land, water or air vehicle, with
31       intent to use the same unlawfully, a tear gas or smoke bomb or projector
32       or any object containing a noxious liquid, gas or substance;
33             (4) carrying any pistol, revolver or other firearm concealed on one's
34       person except when on the person's land or in the person's abode or fixed
35       place of business;
36             (5) setting a spring gun;
37             (6) possessing any device or attachment of any kind designed, used
38       or intended for use in silencing the report of any firearm;
39             (7) selling, manufacturing, purchasing, possessing or carrying a shot-
40       gun with a barrel less than 18 inches in length or any other firearm de-
41       signed to discharge or capable of discharging automatically more than
42       once by a single function of the trigger;
43             (8) possessing, manufacturing, causing to be manufactured, selling,
44       offering for sale, lending, purchasing or giving away any cartridge which
45       can be fired by a handgun and which has a plastic-coated bullet that has
46       a core of less than 60% lead by weight; or
47             (9) possessing or transporting any incendiary or explosive material,
48       liquid, solid or mixture, equipped with a fuse, wick or any other detonat-
49       ing device, commonly known as a molotov cocktail or a pipe bomb.
50             (b) Subsections (a)(1), (2), (3), (4) and (7) shall not apply to or affect
51       any of the following:
52             (1) Law enforcement officers, or any person summoned by any such
53       officers to assist in making arrests or preserving the peace while actually
54       engaged in assisting such officer;
55             (2) wardens, superintendents, directors, security personnel and keep-
56       ers of prisons, penitentiaries, jails and other institutions for the detention
57       of persons accused or convicted of crime, while acting within the scope
58       of their authority;
59             (3) members of the armed services or reserve forces of the United
60       States or the Kansas national guard while in the performance of their
61       official duty; or
62             (4) manufacture of, transportation to, or sale of weapons to a person
63       authorized under subsections (b)(1), (2) and (3) to possess such weapons.
64             (c) Subsection (a)(4) shall not apply to or affect the following:
65             (1) Watchmen, while actually engaged in the performance of the du-
66       ties of their employment;
67             (2) licensed hunters or fishermen, while engaged in hunting or
68       fishing;
69             (3) private detectives licensed by the state to carry the firearm in-
70       volved, while actually engaged in the duties of their employment;
71             (4) detectives or special agents regularly employed by railroad com-
72       panies or other corporations to perform full-time security or investigative
73       service, while actually engaged in the duties of their employment;
74             (5) the state fire marshal, the state fire marshal's deputies or any
75       member of a fire department authorized to carry a firearm pursuant to
76       K.S.A. 31-157, and amendments thereto, while engaged in an investiga-
77       tion in which such fire marshal, deputy or member is authorized to carry
78       a firearm pursuant to K.S.A. 31-157, and amendments thereto; or
79             (6) special deputy sheriffs described in K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 19-827,
80       and amendments thereto, who have satisfactorily completed the basic
81       course of instruction required for permanent appointment as a part-time
82       law enforcement officer under K.S.A. 74-5607a, and amendments
83       thereto.
84             (d) Subsections (a)(1), (6) and (7) shall not apply to any person who
85       sells, purchases, possesses or carries a firearm, device or attachment
86       which has been rendered unserviceable by steel weld in the chamber and
87       marriage weld of the barrel to the receiver and which has been registered
88       in the national firearms registration and transfer record in compliance
89       with 26 U.S.C. 5841 et seq. in the name of such person and, if such person
90       transfers such firearm, device or attachment to another person, has been
91       so registered in the transferee's name by the transferor.
92             (e) Subsection (a)(8) shall not apply to a governmental laboratory or
93       solid plastic bullets.
94             (f) Subsection (a)(4) shall not apply to any retired police officer or
95       law enforcement officer. As used in this subsection, police officer or law
96       enforcement officer shall have the same meaning ascribed thereto by
97       K.S.A. 74-5602, and amendments thereto.
98             (g) It shall be a defense that the defendant is within an exemption.
99             (g) (h) Violation of subsections (a)(1) through (a)(5) or subsection
100       (a)(9) is a class A nonperson misdemeanor. Violation of subsection (a)(6),
101       (a)(7) or (a)(8) is a severity level 9, nonperson felony.
102             (h) (i) As used in this section, "throwing star" means any instrument,
103       without handles, consisting of a metal plate having three or more radiating
104       trefoil, cross, star, diamond or other geometric shape, manufactured for
105       use as a weapon for throwing. 
106       Sec.  2. K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 21-4201 is hereby repealed.
107         Sec.  3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
108       publication in the statute book.