Kansas City Star Editorial: Why do Kansas lawmakers think guns in hospitals are a good idea? [View all]

[brooklynite]

The state’s senators and representatives have failed to exempt the University of Kansas Health System from a law that will allow concealed weapons to be carried in the state’s public buildings starting in July.

Already, executives are hearing from medical students who say they are hesitant to complete their residency in a place where guns are allowed. Patients say they will go elsewhere for care. Other hospitals, once eager to transfer their charges to the many highly specialized programs in the KU Health System, are warning that such arrangements are likely to slow when guns are permitted.

The perception of an unsafe environment is their reality.

Patients can and will choose to go elsewhere. Come July, the KU Health System will be the only such health care center in the area that will allow guns to be carried on the premises. Hospitals in Missouri are exempt from laws that allow people to carry guns more freely.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/opinion/editorials/article143840794.html