Kansas Senate Sends SB 137 Allows Police to Sell Guns to Gun Dealers

On February 27, 2025, the Kansas Senate voted 39 to 1 to pass a police and firearms sales reform bill. The bill allows police to sell/transfer (trade) forfeited firearms to a federally licensed firearms dealer. From legiscan.com:

Session of 2025 SENATE BILL No. 137

AN ACT concerning the Kansas standard asset seizure and forfeiture act;
relating to the disposition of forfeited property; authorizing the sale or
transfer of forfeited firearms to a licensed federal firearms dealer;

The Kansas legislature appears to be correcting a weird quirk in Kansas law, K.S.A 60-4117 (5)(b) allowed for four ways to dispose of forfeited firearms:

1. Destroy them

2. Used for official purposes in the agency which seized the firearms

3. Traded to another law enforcement agency for use withing the agency

4. Given to the Kansas bureau of investigation for law enforcement, testing, comparison, or destruction by the Kansas bureau of investigation forensic laboratory.

Senate Bill No. 137 adds the option of selling or transferring the forfeited firearms to a properly licensed federal firearms dealer, as shown below, bold added:

b) When firearms are forfeited under this act, the firearms, in the
discretion of the seizing agency, shall be destroyed, used within the seizing agency for official purposes, traded to another law enforcement agency for use within such agency, sold or transferred to a properly licensed federal firearms dealer or given to the Kansas bureau of investigation for law enforcement, testing, comparison or destruction by the Kansas bureau of investigation forensic laboratory.

In 2014, Kansas enacted a law requiring police to auction off guns which had been used in crimes. In the first six years of the law, in Wichita, Kansas, the police department received $196,000, as reported in the Wichita Eagle in 2021:

Since 2015, Wichita’s gun sales, totaling 2,082 weapons, have generated $196,000 for a fund that pays for miscellaneous police equipment. However, the middlemen who transact the sales got more than half of the $425,000 in total sale proceeds, according to an analysis of records that The Wichita Eagle obtained through the Kansas Open Records Act.

It is unknown how exactly how many firearms are seized under forfeiture laws in Kansas. Indications are more firearms are seized through forfeiture than are seized when used in crimes. The number could be significant.

The United States Department of Justice has published numbers which distinguish administrative and civil forfeitures from criminal forfeitures. Over the years FY19 to FY23, there were 157,788 total forfeitures of firearms to the federal government. Only 31% of the total were Judicial-Criminal forfeitures. 69% were for civil forfeitures. There are differences between the way the federal government confiscates/seizes firearms and the way it is done in Kansas. Kansas passed a forfeiture reform bill, SB 458, in April of 2024, about a year ago. The reforms limit police power to seize property through civil forfeiture. The reform could reduce the number of firearms seized under civil forfeiture in Kansas.

Although the number of firearms seized by Kansas police through civil forfeiture may drop, none of those firearms are currently allowed to be sold/transferred back into the normal stream of firearms commerce. The number of firearms sold by police in Kansas could rise substantially, along with the amount of money provided to the police budget.  The police have good reasons to approve of SB 137. The bill increases the amount of money available for police equipment and simplifies the administration of police sales of firearms.

©2025 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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