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Bliss




Friends and Neighbors,

 

We're in the final days of session with just ten legislative days left for the majority to pass their bills. We have had floor sessions that go late into the night every day this week where House Republicans have debated and attempted to amend the majority's omnibus bills. There was too much to focus on this week to cover in just one newsletter so I will cover what I believe are the most important - the gun control bills and an update on Senator Nicole Mitchell.

 

Gun Bills

The House debated three gun bills this week: a binary trigger ban, the firearm storage mandate, and another on mandatory lost & stolen firearm reporting. I'd like to share an update on each bill and explain why I stand against them.

HF 4300 proposes a *firearm storage mandate* that dictates the manner in which individuals must store their firearms at all times, regardless of the presence of children in the home, even though we already have a law on the books that outlines how you must store your firearm out of the reach of children.

This bill goes much further, making it unlawful to have a firearm outside of a safe or without a trigger lock at any moment, under any circumstances. In your own home, a firearm must be either under your immediate control, within reach, or securely locked away. Failure to comply results in criminal charges, ranging from a petty misdemeanor to a felony, complete with potential prison time and hefty fines.

Despite many heartfelt testimonies about the impracticality of this bill, the Majority has maintained that individuals should keep their firearm holstered or within reach at all times, even during everyday activities at home.

We proposed several amendments to carve out exceptions for individuals who are victims of harassment, stalking, or imminent danger from a family member, but all were rejected. This bill is not supported by the MN Peace & Police Officers Association and the MN Sheriffs Association and faced bipartisan opposition.

HF 601 mandates the prompt* reporting of lost and stolen firearms* to law enforcement within 48 hours of when a person "should have reasonably known" they were victimized. This bill is problematic for several reasons.

Firstly, it deviates from the standard legal requirement of "clear or convincing evidence" to a more ambiguous "known or should have known," introducing subjectivity into the legal process depending on the prosecutor.

Secondly, it unjustly penalizes victims of theft or loss if they fail to report within the specified 48 hours, turning law-abiding citizens into criminals under these circumstances. It's notable that while citizens have a tight 48-hour reporting window, law enforcement officials have up to 7 days to report the same to the Commissioner of Public Safety, without facing any penalties for delays.

I firmly believe it's wrong to criminalize the victims of theft or loss, as this does not effectively address the issues of gun violence and may actually facilitate criminals in evading the law. This bill also faced opposition from both sides of the aisle.

Finally, the binary trigger ban was wrapped up into a bill that cracked down on straw purchasing, which I support. Representative Peggy Scott has been trying to get this bill passed for several years but the majority never allowed it to pass.

Though I support the straw purchase provision I ended up voting no on this bill due to extremely vague language in the binary trigger ban section, which could end up banning common types of firearms such as Glocks. The crux of the issue is that the language prohibits triggers that allow you to fire more than one round without fully releasing the trigger, but anyone who has shot a Glock knows that you don't actually have to fully remove your finger from the trigger for the sear to reset and allow you to fire another round.

 

*Senator Mitchell Update
*

A lot has changed since I first updated you on the situation with Senator Mitchell last week. For starters, she is now voting, and is the deciding vote on anything that passes the Senate due to the DFL's one-seat majority. Even more ludicrous is the fact that several of the motions that she has voted against have to do with the ethics committee hearing or other investigation of her actions over the past week. That's right, she's been the deciding vote on a motion attempting to stop her from voting until an ethics investigation is completed.

Just yesterday KSTP released an incredible article [ [link removed] ] that I encourage you to read. They were able to interview the stepmother who said that she was worried that Senator Mitchell was going to physically injure her, and that she was so afraid that she "gets goosebumps talking about it."

It's obviously unacceptable to allow Senator Mitchell to vote knowing what we know from the police report, 911 transcript, and an interview with the victim. She is the deciding vote on extremely controversial pieces of legislation during the end of session because the Senate DFL would rather protect her, and their triple-demic of DFL control, than protect the integrity of the institution.

This situation really does call into question just what the DFL was doing yesterday by passing two gun control bills. The debate on those two bills alone took over 12 hours just to head to a Senate where their future is uncertain - *will the Senate DFL allow a Senator who is facing felony burglary charges to be the deciding vote on gun control bills?*






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State Rep. Matt Bliss
311 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd
St. Paul, MN 55155
[email protected]
(651) 296-5516







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