Firearm activists are celebrating the introduction of two key pieces of legislation in the Minnesota House of Representatives.
Bryan Strawser, Chairman of the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, is just one of many firearm advocates in Minnesota pushing for two pro-Second Amendment bills to become law. One of the bills is the Self Defense Law Reform Act, which he says will protect Minnesotans who have to make split-second decisions while in danger, stating, “Today if you are in a situation where you need to use force to defend yourself, in that brief moment of time that you have to make the right decision, you literally have to think about four or five different Minnesota statutes and about a dozen Minnesota Supreme Court cases to know what is and isn’t legal, and this law really simplifies that so it’s more understandable.”
The other bill gun advocates support is known as Constitutional Carry – also known as permitless carry. Strawser explains, “The other bill that Representative Nash brought forward is Constitutional Carry, and this is the simple idea that you should not have to beg permission, take a training class, or pay a fee in order to exercise your Constitutional right to keep and bear arms.”
Both bills are authored by Republican Representative Jim Nash, and have bipartisan support. Representative Nash could not be reached for comment.
Republican Representative Cal Bahr says Nash’s legislation, “keeps all the permit processes in place for purposes of reciprocity, while removing the need to ask permission to carry self-defense tools while in Minnesota.”
Anti-Gun Violence Group Protect Minnesota says the bills “represent the most extreme views of the gun lobby, not the moderate views of most Minnesotan. They are dangerous bills that would put law enforcement officers at risk and divide our communities along racial and cultural lines.”
Strawser says the bills have sponsors lined up in the Senate and will be introduced in that body soon, but is unsure whether or not Democratic Governor Mark Dayton will sign the legislation into law.
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