This week has been a rush of omnibus bills as Democrats continue to push their radical agenda through the final days of this legislative session. All week we?ve been on the house floor late into the evening and even past midnight. I would expect that trend to continue tonight and next week as legislation continues to pile up on the calendar for the day. After being set on the table for much of the week the majority brought forward three of their gun bills last night.
Kare 11 even covered our opposition to these pieces of legislation in this video here:
H.F. 601 criminalizes victims of crime if they don?t report a stolen gun in a certain timeframe instead of going after the perpetrators of the crime, H.F. 4300 compromises someone?s ability to defend themselves at home with new storage requirements, and H.F. 2609 includes changes to the definition of a ?trigger activator? that may impact some commonly used guns and render them illegal. All passed with opposition from me and my Republican colleagues.
We need to focus on enforcing our current laws, as we see violent crime increasing across our state, we should be holding these criminals accountable rather than criminalizing law-abiding gun owners. The heavy-handed 48-hour timeline on lost and stolen firearms and the loose definitions in the bill are especially egregious in criminalizing victims.
I was particularly disappointed in the comments from those across the aisle on their so-called ?Safe Storage? bill. Multiple Democrat members made comments alluding to personal firearms making women less safe. I am a firm believer in ?the great equalizer? ability to balance the odds in the unfortunate event a firearm is needed for self-defense.
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I am especially disappointed in what the majority did with H.F. 2609 by combining this onerous definition of trigger activator with the legislation to increase penalties for straw purchases. This change to hold those accountable for illegally purchasing guns on behalf of someone else who is not permitted to own a weapon has strong bipartisan support. It even originally came to the floor as a republican bill by Representative Scott. Unfortunately, democrats chose to play politics for some perceived ?win? instead of supporting public safety.
Today I had the opportunity to go in depth with Chad Hartman of WCCO on these bills and the problems they will cause for Minnesotans. Listen in here.
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Today we are calendared to hear H.F. 5299, the Higher Education budget bill, H.F. 5216, the Judiciary and Public Safety budget bill, and S.F. 5289, the Employment and Economic Development budget bill. However, as with everything around here, that is subject to change as we also have six other bills sitting on the table that the majority was unable to get through the floor process from earlier this week.
As we continue discussing the Tax Omnibus bill this evening I will be bringing forward my bill, H.F. 3505, as an amendment to the bill. This legislation would increase the property tax exemption for our veterans. I don't know exactly what time my amendment will come forward tonight but I will be here fighting for you!?
You can check in live here: HTV1?
Is there legislation you want to see passed still this year or maybe legislation you like to see stopped? Please share your thoughts with me at [email protected] or by phone at 651-296-9918?so that I can best represent you on the house floor as we work through these final few weeks of this legislative session.
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