Republican gubernatorial candidate in Kansas, Kris Kobach is in some turmoil that he created after he decided to ride in a local parade in a Jeep with a replica gun strapped to the top of it. It was during a parade through the Kansas City suburb, Shawnee for their "Old Shawnee Days Parade". Families, kids, and the community gathered for this parade and were quite surprised to see the candidate rolling down the street with a giant replica gun, given the circumstances of what's been happening within our country surrounding gun violence and school shootings. Kobach himself didn't find anything wrong with it, he proudly flaunted it. Take a look at the vehicle he rode in...
Do you think this was tone deaf of Kobach? Appropriate, or not? Kansas is considered "the country" so is this normal and appropriate behavior or have we just gotten to the point where it's not appropriate in any society, climate, or culture?
Kobach addressed the critics and says "I will not back down in the face of a snowflake meltdown and outrage culture".
At least he's standing for something and not backing down but the question is, is he right? What do you think? A lot over nothing? Have we as a society just gotten way too sensitive or is riding down the street with a replica gun appropriate? At least it was a fake gun...if it was a real one, that would be another thing.
The town officials and organizers of the parade did issue out a statement and apology to the residents of the town saying, "Please know that the safety of our residents is always our highest priority and we apologize if this made anyone feel unsafe or unsettled. We will be taking steps in the future to try to ensure something similar does not happen again."
-Producer Lightning