22 January 2024
TOPEKA (KSNT)– Kansas lawmakers are writing up a new resolution to emphasize our first amendments rights.
they’re motivated by the Marion County record that happened last year in August and caught the attention of national news. Police raided a local newspaper, seizing cell phones and computers, among other items. The raid drew backlash from press freedom advocates. This new resolution is aimed at “affirming” the right to “free press” in the state. Kansas representative Mari-Lynn Poskin teamed up with the Kansas Press Association and Kansas Representative Dennis “Boog” Highberger to draft the resolution.
“Our concern is for the free press,” Poskin said. “It was enshrined in our U.S. constitution and in the Kansas Bill of Rights. We got together and drafted a resolution that basically states that the Kansas House unwaveringly supports free press in the state of Kansas.”
Back in December reports surfaced of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation looking into the raid. The resolution draft also requests for a report from the attorney general after the conclusion of the agency’s search. Lawmakers say they want to make sure the state receives all the facts from what happened during the raid.