Chat with Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline

Welcome to our online chat with Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline.

The chat took place on Thursday, April 29, at 2:45 p.m. and is now closed, but you can read the full transcript on this page.

Moderator: We’ll start our chat with Attorney General Phill Kline in a few minutes. There’s still time to submit questions. Thanks for joining us.

Travis, Lawrence: Do you support the Senate’s action today to uniformly restrict Sunday liquor sales in Kansas? Please explain the rationale for your position.

Phill Kline: When I was a state representative, I supported allowing Sunday sales. My concern as attorney general is uniformity in the law. If the law is not uniform, cities and counties can set their own age limits and also exempt out of DUI laws. Such a situation is unworkable, so my request of the legislature is to simply make the law uniform and I have no dog in the fight as to whether they allow or disallow Sunday sales. The repurcussions of non-uniformity are dramatic, not only in terms of public safety but also in terms of federal funds.

Steve, Lawrence: I’ve heard rumors that the proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage will also ban private companies from offering domestic partner benefits and will void power of attorney contracts between gay couples. What is your interpretation of the proposed amendment?

Phill Kline: It will not impact private rights or the opportunities of private companies to extend benefits in the fashion they deem fit.

David, Lawrence: How do you feel about smoking bans?

Phill Kline: I believe those decisions ought to be left up to the business owners. I do not smoke, and smoking does bother me, so I tend to patronize those businesses that restrict smoking or have non-smoking areas. And I believe it ought to be left to those private businesses to make those determinations as well as the consumer.

Travis, Lawrence: Attorney General Kline, when asked whether you would run for governor in a previous LJWorld.com chat, you said you are happy in your current job. If not you, then who from the Republican party should run in 2006? Do you believe Gov. Sebelius is doing a good job?

Phill Kline: There are numerous Republicans who I think would serve well as governor. But it’s too early for gubernatorial politics to be at the forefront. Gov. Sebelius has done some things well, but has also demonstrated her willingness to propose dramatic tax increases, and also oppose some legislation which causes some concern with some in the Republican party ranks. I anticipate the party will field a strong candidate.

Michael, Topeka: I understand from the previous chat session you support the right of the Legislature to promote the traditional family by defining marriage as between a man and a woman. I’m having trouble understanding in what specific way extending the legal rights of marriage to gay couples threatens my (or yours, or anyone’s) “traditional” marriage. Can you help explain your position? Frankly, it seems kind of, well, mean.

Phill Kline: Currently, gays in the United States have the right to hold themselves out as a couple, live together, interact sexually if they are of age, and will property to one another. Furthermore, companies can and have extended benefits to gay couples, as have some states in the United States through the legislative process. Also, traditionally, the Legislature has determined the tax code and extended the benefits to certain groups of people – people who start certain businesses, people who have children, traditional families, etc. Courts have left this to the Legislature in that they recognize that people have a greater voice with the legislative process than the court process. If the people do not like the policy of the Legislature, they elect new legislators. This is untrue with courts and therefore courts have been reluctant to engage in legislative action. A couple of exceptions are court decisions protecting the rights of women and racial minorities. This is fully justified because these groups have been prohibited from fully engaging in the political process by past laws that have either treated them as slaves or property, and we still suffer the vestiges of that discrimination today. Because of this, the courts had to step in. There has never been a law prohibiting gays from holding office or voting, and today in America, gays wield significant political power. My point is, this decision is best left to the Legislature and the courts do not have justification to remove such issues from the legislative process.

Bryan, Topeka: Do you think having police in the schools is a good idea?

Phill Kline: I would say that law enforcement, educators and students should be in partnership to ensure a safe environment for all of our citizens. I support the presence of law enforcement if such presence is presented with respect to all parties. My experience is that generally this is the case.

Travis, Lawrence: You consistently support more lengthy prison sentences for criminals. Given that our state budget already is tight and that our prisons are overcrowded, do you support raising and spending the additional revenue necessary to build prisons to house these offenders?

Phill Kline: Currently, Kansas law provides probation for those who conspire to rape a child for profit, in other words, those who promote child prostitution. Furthermore, Kansas laws allow a rapist a second, third, fourth and, in some instances, a fifth chance. In a recent case in Topeka, a man who was convicted of rape who videotaped his rape of a 6-year-old boy received probation. In Lawrence recently, two men who raped an underage girl received probation. This is unacceptable. My point is, that in a $10 billion dollar plus budget whose revenues are growing 6 percent this year without any tax increase, we can find money to keep violent criminals behind bars and stop spending money on $300 million Capitol renovation projects, a new $24 million Department of Transportation headquarters, and a $14 million underground parking garage on Capitol grounds. As a footnote, my office budget has been reduced from $6.2 million under the previous administration to approximately $4 million this year, and we are making it work fine.

Tom, Ottawa: How much did it cost the state to sue the Nebraska tribe over gas taxes and to close the KCK casino of another tribal government?

Phill Kline: I can speak to the Wyandotte County casino case. The Wyandotte tribe casino case in Kansas City, Kan., has been going on for now close to 10 years. During that time, previous attorneys general and governors took the same position as I in stating that a tribe from another state does not have the right to buy private property, suddenly claim that property is Indian land and operate a casino without regulation. My office is conducting that litigation within the existing budget. It is important to note the following: 1. The Wyandotte tribe is extraordinarily wealthy, having generated $488 million of government revenue from non-gambling sources. 2. The Wyandotte tribe only resided in Kansas for 12 years in its 400-year history, during which time they purchased land and later sold that land in Kansas. (They were never given a reservation here.) 3. The Wyandotte tribe currently has the right to gamble on their reservation land in Oklahoma. 4. The Wyandottes have stated that if they are successful, they will use a clause in federal law to prevent any other type of gambling in Kansas City, Kan.

Resident tribes in Kansas oppose the Wyandotte action, and if the Wyandottes are successful with this precedent, the state will have virtually no ability to prevent any Indian tribe in the nation from purchasing land anywhere in Kansas and initiating gambling operations. And the last point: The Wyandotte tribe does not contribute any revenue whatsoever to Kansas City, Kan., Wyandotte County or the state government. This is an important case we will continue to work hard on.

Moderator: We’d like to thank Attorney General Phill Kline for joining us this afternoon for another chat in our Capitol Chats series. Thanks to everyone who contributed.