Kansas legislative leaders, including our own Sen. Wilborn, have expressed their determination to override Gov. Kelly’s vetoes of key legislation. They are a few votes short of the number of Republican votes needed to override her vetoes.

Borrowing words from Sen. Wilborn, GOP leaders plan to engage in “a lot of whipping” and to inflict “broken bones” on Republicans that refuse to yield to the demands of their GOP leaders. The message Sen. Wilborn delivers is abundantly clear, vote your conscience at your own risk; vote to override or else; vote the way we tell you or else. While the physical threat is purely rhetorical, the political threat is very real. Disappointing to say the least.

Just what is it GOP leaders want to override? Worst of all they want to override the Governor’s veto of HB2183, a bill which criminalizes democracy by making it a level 9 nonperson FELONY for a person to help other United States Citizens cast a ballot. The GOP leaders claim the bill protects the integrity of the ballot when in reality it targets voters they do not like, voters like me and maybe voters like you as well; it seeks to instill fear in hopes that we will not exercise our right to vote or ask for help in voting or offer help to others in voting.

Legislative leaders also want to override Gov. Kelly’s veto of HB2058, twenty-two pages devoted to increasing access to firearms with no requirements to ensure safe access that might help reduce the more than 400 gun deaths that have occurred annually in Kansas in recent years, compared to voter fraud which is all but non-existent in Kansas.

In short, the legislature wants to make primary instruments of murder and mayhem more widely available while threatening citizens with felony indictments and convictions for helping someone to vote. Seriously?

One can read more on this issue at https://kansasreflector.com/2021/04/24/kansas-gop-lawmakerseager-to-rally-partisan-allies-to-challenge-kellys-vetosurge/.

My main point is that if readers believe that Gov. Kelly cares more about the rights, health, lives, and well-being of Kansans than many of our legislators do, they need to contact Rep. Johnson and Sen. Wilborn and urge them to vote to sustain Gov. Kelly’s vetoes. Time is short; the legislature resumes session May 3, 2021, when it will try to override Gov. Kelly’s votes.

Sen. Wilborn: Richard.Wilborn@senate.ks.gov;

(785) 296-7361

Rep. Johnson: steven.johnson@house.ks.gov;

(785) 296-7696

Jerry Marsh

Ellsworth, Kan.