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Minn.: Conceal-carry becomes law
Edited for brevity. It took the longest debate in memory on the floor of the Minnesota Senate, but a bill to make permits to carry handguns in public available to more people gained final legislative approval Monday and was signed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty. It is to go into effect in 30 days. Eventually, according to an official legislative estimate, it could increase the number of people licensed to tote guns on Minnesota streets from fewer than 12,000 now to about 90,000. I.e. 78,000 more reasons for criminals to give Minnesota a wide berth. For 7 1/2 hours Monday, Senate DFLers railed against the measure and the parliamentary legerdemain that brought it directly from the House with no opportunity for Senate amendments. Six DFL senators even donned bulletproof vests as they denounced the bill as "insanity," "lunacy" and "sheer madness." "Why, the very idea that the people of Minnesota are entitled to Constitutional rights is repulsive!" In the end, a small group of outstate DFL senators who favor gun rights bucked their leadership's opposition and tipped the balance in favor of the bill. The vote for final passage was 37 to 30. What comes next is a sweeping reversal of Minnesota handgun policy that has been in effect since 1975. Under that system, police chiefs and sheriffs have had broad discretion to grant or deny permits for occupational needs or personal protection. In some areas, especially the Twin Cities, critics say, authorities have abused that discretion by denying permits to nearly all applicants. If they wanted to carry beforehand, they should have done the California Circumvention: change their names to "Sean Penn" and declare they're pacifists. Posted by: Dar 2003-04-29 |
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