“The government shouldn’t be able to deny a licensed conceal-carry holder their right to provide for their own protection if the government is not willing to,” said State Senator Forrest Knox, a Republican who helped develop Kansas’ concealed-carry bill, echoing an argument that has gained currency among conservatives amid a national gun control debate.

Kansas set a state record for concealed-carry interest last year with 24,000 applicants. Since the Legislature passed its first concealed-weapons law in 2006, more than 75,000 residents have received the license, which requires eight hours of training.

But even in a state like Kansas, where cultural heritage is steeped in hunting trips and a tradition of self-reliance, there is some uneasiness about broadening the right to carry everywhere. According to a poll last year by Fort Hays State University, about 56 percent of Kansans strongly or somewhat opposed allowing concealed firearms in schools, hospitals and government buildings. The survey of 944 state residents had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points.

“We have a lot of inexperienced individuals with weapons, and you just never can tell what can happen,” said Mayor Carl Brewer of Wichita, a Democrat who opposed the decision to open buildings to concealed weapons.

But a vote perceived as violating Second Amendment rights in Wichita, a metropolis of nearly 400,000 with a small-town feel, can still be politically problematic. City Council members acknowledge that they received some backlash from gun-owning constituents after they voted for the six-month exemption to the new law in June, a vote they said was critical to giving them more time to examine the issue.