Kansas Attorney General Opinion 2014-006

March 27, 2014
ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION NO. 2014- 06
Jeffrey A. Chubb
Emert, Chubb & Gettler, LLC
304 N. 6th
P.O. Box 747
Independence, KS 67301-0747
Re: 	Cities 	and 	Municipalities‒Miscellaneous 	Provisions‒Firearms 	and
Ammunition; Regulation by City or County, Limitations
Cities 	and 	Municipalities‒Miscellaneous 	Provisions‒Knives 	and 	Knife
Making Components; Regulation by Municipality, Limitations
Schools‒Community 	Colleges‒Organization, 	Powers 	and 	Finances 	of
Boards of Trustees‒Boards of Trustees; Powers and Duties
State Departments; Public Officers and Employees‒Firearms‒Personal
and Family Protection Act
Synopsis: 	The board of trustees of a community college may prohibit the open carry
of firearms on campus by any person.
The board of trustees of a community college may restrict or prohibit the
concealed carry of handguns inside some or all campus buildings by
exercising the exemption found in K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 75-7c20(j)(5), or by
providing adequate security measures in a building and posting that
building as prohibiting concealed carry. A community college may not ban
the carrying of concealed handguns by persons licensed to do so on the
grounds of the community college.
The board of trustees of a community college may not enact a new rule
prohibiting the carrying of knives as defined in K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 12-
16,134(c)(1) 	on 	campus 	or 	inside 	campus 	buildings. 	If 	a 	community

Jeffrey A. Chubb
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college enacted such a rule prior to July 1, 2013, the community college
may continue to enforce that rule.
The board of trustees of a community college and may ban the carrying on
campus of weapons other than knives, such as billy clubs or metal
knuckles. Cited herein: K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 12-16,124; 12-16,134; 21-5412;
21-6301; 21-6302; 71-201; K.S.A. 71-204; K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 74-3201b;
75-7c01; 75-7c10; 75-7c17; 75-7c20; 75-6102; Kan. Const., Bill of Rights,
§ 4; U.S. Const., Am. 2.
* 	* 	*
Dear Mr. Chubb:
As counsel for the Independence Community College Board of Trustees, you ask
whether a community college may lawfully ban weapons from its campus, and in
particular whether the a community college may prohibit persons who are not licensed
to carry concealed handguns from possessing or carrying weapons while on campus.
Kansas law provides that the board of trustees of a community college “shall have
custody of and be responsible for the property of the community college and shall be
responsible for the operation, management and control of the college.” 1 Community
college trustees are empowered by law to “exercise all other powers not inconsistent
with the provisions of law or with the rules and regulations of the state board of regents
which may be reasonably necessary or incidental to the establishment, maintenance
and operation of a community college.”2
To date, the Kansas Board of Regents has adopted no rule or regulation governing the
possession and carrying of weapons on community college campuses. 3 Therefore,
except to the extent other laws apply, the authority to decide whether to permit or
prohibit weapons on a community college campus lies with the community college
board of trustees.
1 K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 71-201(a). See also K.S.A. 74-3202c(c) (“Notwithstanding any of the powers, duties
and functions conferred and imposed upon the state board of regents under the Kansas higher education
coordination act, the boards of trustees of the community colleges shall continue to have custody of and
be responsible for the property of their respective community colleges and shall be responsible for the
operation, management and control of such community colleges, except as otherwise expressly provided
by law.”).
2 K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 71-201(b)(14).
3 See K.A.R. 88-2-1 et seq.

Jeffrey A. Chubb
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Concealed Carry of Handguns
Several Kansas statutes govern the ability of community college trustees to regulate the
carrying of weapons on campus. We first consider the Personal and Family Protection
Act, 4 commonly known as the concealed carry law.
The PFPA states in relevant part:
The carrying of a concealed handgun as authorized by the personal and
family protection act shall not be prohibited in any state or municipal
building unless such building has adequate security measures to ensure
that no weapons are permitted to be carried into such building and the
building is conspicuously posted in accordance with K.S.A. 75-7c10, and
amendments thereto. 5
The PFPA defines municipality as “any county, township, city . . . or other political or
taxing 	subdivision 	of 	the 	state, 	or 	any 	agency, 	authority, 	institution 	or 	other
instrumentality thereof.”6 A community college is a municipality for the purposes of the
PFPA because its board of trustees is authorized to levy taxes on property within the
community college district, 7 and because a community college is a political subdivision
of the state. 8 Therefore, the provisions of the PFPA apply to community college
buildings unless the community college exercises an exemption as further described
below.
A community college has three options with respect to compliance with the PFPA. First,
a community college board of trustees may decide to permit concealed carry licensees
to carry concealed handguns into all buildings owned by the college. Second, a
community college board of trustees may elect to exempt any or all college buildings
from the provisions of the PFPA for a four-year period by exercising the exemption in
K.S.A. 75-7c20(j)(5). 9 If such exemption is taken, then the provisions of K.S.A. 2013
Supp. 75-7c10(a) control and the community college may prohibit concealed carry by
licensees in buildings covered by the exemption simply by posting the buildings as
prohibiting concealed carry.
As a third option, a community college may prohibit concealed carry in certain buildings
by providing adequate security measures 10 at the public entrances to those buildings
4 K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 75-7c01 et seq.
5 K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 75-7c20(a).
6 K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 75-7c20(l)(2) and 75-6102(b).
7 See K.S.A. 71-204.
8 See, e.g., Attorney General Opinion No. 2003-8.
9 Postsecondary educational institutions may exercise the four-year exemption for any or all buildings
owned by such institution. A community college is a postsecondary education institution for the purposes
of the PFPA. See K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 74-3201b(e) and 75-7c20(j)(5).
10 “‘Adequate security measures’ means the use of electronic equipment and personnel at public
entrances to detect and restrict the carrying of any weapons into the state or municipal building, including,
but not limited to, metal detectors, metal detector wands or any other equipment used for similar

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and posting those buildings as prohibiting concealed carry. 11 However, it is not a
violation of the PFPA for a community college employee to carry a concealed handgun
into a building in which adequate security measures are present so long as the
employee is licensed under the PFPA and the employee enters through a restricted
access entrance. 12
Your question also concerns a community college prohibiting the carrying of concealed
handguns on campus grounds. The PFPA prohibits a city, county or political subdivision
from regulating, restricting or prohibiting the carrying of concealed handguns by persons
licensed under the PFPA except as provided in K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 21-6309, 75-7c10(b)
and 	75-7c20. 13 None 	of 	those 	provisions 	authorize 	a 	community 	college 	to 	ban
concealed carry licensees from carrying concealed handguns in outdoor spaces on the
grounds of the campus. This means that the board of trustees of a community college
lacks authority to ban PFPA licensees from carrying concealed handguns on campus
grounds, even if the PFPA allows a community college to restrict or prohibit concealed
carry inside campus buildings.
Open Carry of Firearms
With respect to the open carry of firearms, there are no state statutes that restrict the
authority of a community college to prohibit open carry on campus, regardless of
whether a person is licensed under the PFPA. The only state statute that expressly
limits local regulation of open carry is K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 12-16,124, but that statute only
applies to cities and counties. 14 In the absence of such a statute, it is our opinion that
Kansas law allows the board of trustees of a community college to ban the open carry of
firearms on campus and inside campus buildings.
Knives
K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 12-16,134 limits the authority of municipalities to regulate the
carrying of knives. As with the PFPA, a community college is a municipality for the
purposes of this statute.15 Subsection (a) of K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 12-16,134 states:
A municipality shall not enact any ordinance, resolution, rule or tax relating
to the transportation, possession, carrying, sale, transfer, purchase, gift,
devise, 	licensing, 	registration 	or 	use 	of 	a 	knife 	or 	knife 	making
components.
purposes to ensure that weapons are not permitted to be carried into such building by members of the
public.” K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 75-7c20(l)(1).
11 K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 75-7c20(b).
12 K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 75-7c20(d).
13 K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 75-7c17(a).
14 “No city or county shall adopt any ordinance, resolution or regulation, and no agent of any city or county
shall take any administrative action, governing the purchase, transfer, ownership, storage or transporting
of firearms or ammunition, or any component or combination thereof.” K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 12-16,124(a)
(emphasis added).
15 See K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 12-16,134(c)(2) and 75-6102(b).

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“Knife” is defined as “a cutting instrument and includes a sharpened or pointed blade.” 16
This 	broad 	definition 	includes 	sharpened 	objects 	ranging 	from 	pocket 	knives 	to
machetes and swords. 17
K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 12-16,134(a) prohibits a community college from enacting a rule that
would ban the carrying of objects that fall within the definition of “knife” on that
community college’s property. However, as we explained in Attorney General Opinion
No. 2014-01, it is our opinion that this statute extinguishes only the authority to enact
new rules after July 1, 2013, but does not invalidate any existing rules prohibiting the
carrying of knives that were in effect prior to July 1, 2013. Therefore, if a community
college enacted a rule prohibiting the carrying of any knife while on the college campus
prior to July 1, 2013, it is our opinion that the community college may continue to
enforce such rule unless K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 12-16,134 is amended to expressly
invalidate local knife regulations enacted prior to July 1, 2013.
Even though K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 12-16,134 prohibits a community college from enacting
a new rule regulating knives, it does not prohibit a community college from taking action
if a crime is committed on campus with a knife. For example, campus law enforcement
officers may arrest a person who threatens a passerby with a machete, because such
conduct is unlawful in any instance. 18 However, we note that in 2013, the legislature
removed all references to knives, including a “dagger, dirk, . . . dangerous knife, straight
edged razor, [or] stiletto. . . ,” from two criminal statutes, criminal use of weapons
(K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 21-6301) and criminal carrying of a weapon (K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 21-
6302). 19 As a consequence, it is no longer a crime to possess a dagger, dirk, dangerous
knife, straight edged razor, stiletto, or other weapon of like character with the intent to
use the same unlawfully against another, or to carry the same weapon concealed on
one’s person.
Conclusion
In summary, it is our opinion that current law allows the board of trustees of a
community college to prohibit the open carry of firearms in buildings or on campus
grounds by any person.
The board of trustees of a community college may restrict or prohibit concealed carry
inside some or all campus buildings by exercising the exemption found in K.S.A. 2013
Supp. 75-7c20(j)(5), or by providing adequate security measures in a building and
posting that building as prohibiting concealed carry. However, a community college may
not ban concealed carry by PFPA licensees on the grounds of a community college.
16 K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 12-16,134(c)(1).
17 See Attorney General Opinion No. 2014-01.
18 See K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 21-5412.
19 L. 2013, Ch. 88, § 2.

Jeffrey A. Chubb
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A community college may not enact a new rule prohibiting the carrying of knives, as
defined in K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 12-16,134(c)(1), whether concealed or unconcealed. If a
community college enacted such a rule prior to July 1, 2013, it is our opinion that the
community college may continue to enforce that rule unless K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 12-
16,134 is amended to expressly invalidate any such rules that were in existence prior to
July 1, 2013.
There are no state statutes that address the carrying of weapons other than guns or
knives, such as billy clubs or metal knuckles, so a community college may ban those
types of weapons from campus.
Sincerely,
Derek Schmidt
Attorney General
Sarah Fertig
Assistant Attorney General
DS:AA:SF:sb