Topeka ? Supporters of concealed weapons in Kansas told a House committee Thursday that allowing law-abiding citizens to carry handguns would help lower the state’s crime rate and give women a tool to protect themselves against being raped.

Kansas is one of only four states in the nation that do not allow concealed weapons. The measure before the House Federal and State Affairs Committee would require the Kansas Bureau of Investigation to grant a permit to all residents who qualify and pay a $150 application fee.

Rep. Candy Ruff, D-Leavenworth, a primary sponsor of the bill, told the committee that women who have been raped were carrying concealed weapons already, even though it’s against the law.

Ruff said she had talked to about 20 rape victims in Kansas and they all say they carry a gun because they will never allow themselves to be caught off-guard again.

“After they’ve been attacked, that’s when they want to protect themselves,” Ruff said

Sen. Phil Journey, R-Wichita, told the committee that allowing people to carry concealed weapons would be a deterrent against violent crimes. Criminals would be more leery of attacking someone, he said, if they think that person is carrying a weapon.

Statistics show that millions of times each year, people are using guns to protect themselves from attackers he said.

“People who are going to get these permits are not the ones we need to worry about at all,” Journey said.

Among those who testified was a woman who said she was raped in 1989. She said she did not tell anyone, including law enforcement agencies, because she was too afraid.

“I lived scared for a long time,” said the woman, whose name and hometown were not revealed. “Then I met my present husband and he taught me how to shoot a gun. I now own a handgun that I carry concealed.”

The committee expects to vote on the concealed carry law on Monday.

A full gallery of spectators in the Old Supreme Court chamber listens as State Rep. Phil Journey, R-Haysville, addresses the House Federal and State Affairs Committee as a proponent of a bill that would enable Kansans to carry concealed weapons. The hearing was Thursday at the Statehouse in Topeka.