A Republican candidate for governor of Kansas rode in a parade on Saturday in a red, white and blue Jeep that had a replica machine gun affixed on the vehicle.
Kris Kobach, the state’s current secretary of state, rode in the Old Shawnee Days parade with a replica .50 caliber machine gun, according to the Kansas City Star.
Had a blast riding in the Old Shawnee Days Parade in this souped up jeep with a replica gun. Those who want to restrict the right to keep and bear arms are deeply misguided. The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. #ksleg #ksgov #TeamKobach pic.twitter.com/ZULBEYTqUW
— Kris W. Kobach (@KrisKobach1787) June 2, 2018
But Kobach’s stunt drew the ire of some parade attendees.
“My greatest concern today was not Kris Kobach’s political position (that’s another conversation to be had and to consider as a voter),” Johnny Lewis, a local pastor, said on Facebook. “It was that in a world where our children (including my daughter who is in kindergarten) live with anxiety about school shootings and do intruder drills regularly that any politician thought it was ok to drive through a crowd of children with an automatic weapon pointed at the crowd.”
“The secretary says those who use the excuse of school violence to restrict the right to bear arms are deeply misguided. We need to stand up for our Second Amendment rights and recognize the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” Kobach’s spokeswoman Danedri Herbert said to the Kansas City Star.
The city issued an apology for those who were offended by Kobach’s vehicle.
From the City of Shawnee re: Kris Kobach’s parade entry. #ksleg #ksgovernorrace #kspolitics #cityofshawnee pic.twitter.com/9znKfxTVnf
— Cindy For Kansas (@cindy4kansas) June 3, 2018