Minnesota Gun Owners Rejoice In Victory…AGAIN!!
To some it might seem like a never-ending political tug-of-war…and that might be one of the best analogies to describe the Minnesota Personal Protection Act of 2003. It has gone from a highly controversial law first enacted in 2003…to a law challenged and then found unconstitutional by two levels of the Minnesota court system.
Today, however, the Minnesota House of Representatives re-passed a nearly identical version of the earlier law (making the early legal challenges moot) that now paves the way for the governor’s signature, which he has promised to do. Once again, Minnesota has clearly become a “shall issue” state on the matter of this state’s conceal carry handgun laws. The previous law, which has been doing a limbo dance as it has been construed by Attorney General Hatch, now has a clear and decisive directive by the lawmakers who took exception to the activist courts who found the law to be invalid on a procedural technicality.
So why should any of this be important to the common sportsman? First off, you don’t have to be a so-called “gun nut” to realize some benefit by the legislation that was passed today. You don’t even have to have interest in conceal carry or live in this state to have reason to rejoice in the law’s passage. Like it or not, sportsmen as a group are gun owners and our rights as legal owners of those weapons are constantly being threatened whenever emotional, gun-fearing individuals pass legislation to seemingly “make our world a better place to live.”
Personally, I am a permit holder who is proud to make that claim. Do I choose to carry on a regular basis…the answer is NO. In fact, by choice I have never even carried a concealed gun anywhere in public. But I sure want to have the ability to do so if cared to. Moreover, if I want to carry a handgun in my vehicle I want it to be done under the relaxed handgun laws that licensed permit holders experience.
As I listened to the debate on the floor of the House today I couldn’t help but realize how out of touch some legislators are with reality. They fail to realize that guns are a permanent part of our culture no matter how many restrictive laws are passed under the guise of “do-gooding.” The fact is, their attempts to hogtie honest, law-abiding citizens making it virtually impossible for someone who has passed tests and proficiency skills on the range is absolutely baffling to me. They would much rather penalize a guy who spends the time and money to protect his family…than to urge stiffer penalties for a common crook who came by their gun in some illicit manner and then uses it criminally in some nefarious act.
Indeed, today the Minnesota House of Representatives and last Friday the Minnesota Senate delivered a very strong message to the citizens of Minnesota that our elected lawmakers will not stand for a judicial system that steps beyond its constitutional bounds. The courts where this issue was challenged were allegedly hand-picked by opponents of MPPA and they got their short-lived victory as the judges walked a fine line regarding legislating from the bench. Soon Governor Tim Pawlenty will seal the deal and once again enact a law that should never have been struck down in the first place by these judges.
No doubt about it…the issue of conceal carry is a lighting rod topic in Minnesota and certainly in many other states around the country. When you sift out the emotion and the distorted misconceptions of gun ownership that seem to abound with many liberal metro legislators, you eventually get a common sense understanding that prevails and allows honest citizens to carry out a right they have been granted ever since our nation was first conceived into existence.
© 2005 Jim Braaten. All Rights Reserved. No Reproduction without Prior Permission.