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*May 3, 2024
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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, a Senator Mitchell update, and the Judiciary Omnibus Bill.

 

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, for political reasons, wrapped up into a bill that cracked down on straw purchasing, a proposal that I have carried for years. I'm frankly disgusted that the majority did this. They didn't work with me when they included my language in their bill and they included a poison pill with it so that our caucus wouldn't vote for it. I just have to wonder - if my proposal to hike the penalty for straw purchasers had passed five years ago, three years ago, or even a few last year, would the girlfriend of the Burnsville shooter, who knew he was ineligible to possess firearms, have refrained from that illegal straw purchase, knowing that the penalty would have been a felony?* Please watch my remarks on this bill on the House Floor last night here [ [link removed] ].*  

 

*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 was 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 Senator Mitchell allegedly burglarized* 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 trifecta, 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?*

 

*Judiciary Omnibus Bill*

Finally, today the House will take up the Judiciary Omnibus Bill as part of another long floor session. *Being the Republican Lead on Judiciary*, I was hoping that we could take the opportunity this year to fix some of the sloppy legislating of last year and maybe even repeal a bit of the spending. Unfortunately the opposite happened and, while it's a relatively noncontroversial bill, it spends $36 million while we're facing a looming deficit and includes no Republican bills or proposals. I wish that we were able to seize this opportunity and pass a bipartisan bill, but unfortunately I am a NO on this bill.






Please Contact Me

I encourage you to please contact me with any questions or input by phone at 651-296-4231 or by email at [email protected].

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335 State Office Building
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