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State Representative Tom Hackbarth

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Posted: 2011-05-05 00:00:00
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Email update

Gov. remains roadblock to budget deal

Rep. Tom Hackbarth
Email Update, May 5, 2011
Gun Bill Advancing

Dear Neighbor,

It looks like Gov. Mark Dayton may be the biggest roadblock for a House plan to strengthen gun rights and allow Minnesotans to better defend themselves.

A bill (H.F. 1467) to make improvements in these areas is making its way through the House. It has gained bipartisan support, with about a half-dozen Democrats joining 30 or so Republicans as authors. Unfortunately, the governor has been quoted in the papers saying he does not support this legislation.

Here are the three main components of the bill:

· The Castle Doctrine is a “Stand Your Ground” provision which empowers citizens, allowing them to use deadly force to protect themselves and others if a person breaks into places like their home, car or business.

· Reciprocity on handgun permits with other states allows a non-Minnesotan, who has legally obtained a valid firearms permit in another state, to legally carry their handgun in our state.

· Extending the duration of a permit to purchase a handgun to five years instead of one year eliminates forcing law-abiding citizens to keep jumping through hoops to maintain their permit. The background-check portion of the process is maintained.

What is hard to comprehend is how the governor can agree with the current state policy that forces a person to run away from an intruder instead of allowing people to defend themselves. The only folks who are restricted by gun laws are those who obey them, so why does the governor want to continue stacking the deck in favor of ruthless criminals?

Maybe the governor just does not understand this issue because he lacks the backbone it takes for people to stand their ground and defend what is important to them. This is the same guy who once shut down his Washington office for approximately three weeks, even though federal law enforcement officials insisted there was no new intelligence indicating the Capitol complex was a target of attack. The other legislators continued conducting business as usual in D.C.

I suggest calling the governor to let him know you support H.F. 1467 and encourage him to do the same. His toll-free phone number is (800) 657-3717.

Sincerely,
Tom

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