state + local

Letter to Gov. Dayton: Please accept this respectful request to sign HF 1467 into law. This legislation is vital to all Minnesotans who are growingly concerned with protecting themselves & their families from the increasingly violent crime affecting all parts of our state. To be sure, this law would be a moot point if all Minnesotans had the same 24/7 Mn State Patrol security that the taxpayers of our state provide to you. However, since this isn't possible, we must increasingly rely on ourselves for self-protection, now more so than ever, because of extreme personnel shortages at law enforcement agencies. The reality is that law enforcement's lack of proactive community presence and regular visibility, plus alarmingly slow response times to emergency calls, has relegated authorities to after-the-fact report writers, forensic evidence gatherers and crime scene clean-up caretakers. Because of the inability of law enforcement to provide timely and comprehensive security for our urban and rural communities, it is imperitive that Minnesotans be provided the tools necessary, should the worse need arise. Without a doubt, HF 1467, as passed by both our House of Representatives & our Senate, on bi-partisan basis, is a major step in the right direction toward making our state safer for the general population. So, please Governor Dayton, do the right thing, as many other states have, and sign HF 1467 into law.

another bill for Dayton to veto. Are Republicans ever going to work on any sort of meaningful legislation.

Jennifer Brooks, what do the numbers say? How many violent crimes involving a weapon took place in Minnesota in 2011, 2010, 2009, ...1980 as a ratio of the population (1 for every N people). Please compare whatever those results to how many active permits to carry a weapon for the same year using the same ratio. Please compare it graphically to changes in legislation or other such "mood" swings in the population. That would be a worthwhile contribution by a reporter.

re: lawman14Feb. 29, 12 9:30 PM Letter to Gov. Dayton: Please accept this respectful request to sign HF 1467 into law. This legislation is vital to all Minnesotans who are growingly concerned with protecting themselves & their families from the increasingly violent crime affecting all parts of our state..... actually violent crime is down. It's really too bad right wingers are so paranoid they are afraid of the boogeyman as well as facts.

Why is it that if you are a prosecutor you can defend yourself as any other law abiding citizen should be allowed to do, but the huddled masses cannot be afforded the same right. Do you realize who the prosecutors feel they need to defend themselves from??? The criminals that preyed upon typically defenseless citizens and are now going thru the system! It's OK for them to beat and rob Joe Public, but it stops there. Again the naysayers are saying nay. Same as they did with conceal carry. Please note that nearly everyone voted for the prosecutors to be able to protect themselves, not just Republicans. It was truly bipartisan.

Under current law, self defense is allowed. No one in Minnesota has been put in prison for justifiable self defense. This law is not needed. We should enforce the laws already on the books. There is simply no need to expand the right to kill another human being in public places that will be expanded to become one's "home" under the language of the bill. Shooting someone should be a last resort, not a first resort. This bill is pushed by the extremist NRA in states all over our country. It will not make us safer but quite the opposite. The only reasonable thing for Governor Dayton to do is to veto this bill in the interest of public safety. Doing so will not affect anyone's ability to defend him or herself at home or even in public, for that matter. In light of the school shooting this week, haven't we been reminded of the many shootings that take place every day in our country? Why make it easier for more of them to occur? When we are looking for a solution to a non-existent problem, no one is better off. Let's get busy and work on the actual important things that affect Minnesotans like access to health care, environmental issues, jobs, adequate funding for schools and our cities, and transportation projects to keep bridges from collapsing and roads from deteriorating. Please veto this bill, Governor Dayton.

ethanellie re: In light of the school shooting this week, haven't we been reminded of the many shootings that take place every day in our country? Why make it easier for more of them to occur?

Please. Way to exploit a tragedy. Leave it to a liberal. Your comment reminds me of Jim Oberstarr standing next to the fallen 35W bridge demanding tax increases. Law abiding citizens are not the problem. Criminals are. Law abiding citizens obey the law. Criminals do not. You do not need to protect yourself against a law abiding citizen. You do need to protect yourself against a criminal.

This is sound legislation that should be passed immediately.

re: This is sound legislation that should be passed immediately.....why, please cite a single case in which a person defended themselves or their family and have been accused for a crime? I bet you can't.

lawman14Feb. 29, 12 9:30 PM Letter to Gov. Dayton: Please accept this respectful request to sign HF 1467 into law. This legislation is vital to all Minnesotans who are growingly concerned with protecting themselves & their families from the increasingly violent crime affecting all parts of our state. To be sure, this law would be a moot point if all Minnesotans had the same 24/7 Mn State Patrol security that the taxpayers of our state provide to you. However, since this isn't possible, we must increasingly rely on ourselves for self-protection, now more so than ever, because of extreme personnel shortages at law enforcement agencies. The reality is that law enforcement's lack of proactive community presence and regular visibility, plus alarmingly slow response times to emergency calls, has relegated authorities to after-the-fact report writers, forensic evidence gatherers and crime scene clean-up caretakers. Because of the inability of law enforcement to provide timely and comprehensive security for our urban and rural communities, it is imperitive that Minnesotans be provided the tools necessary, should the worse need arise. Without a doubt, HF 1467, as passed by both our House of Representatives & our Senate, on bi-partisan basis, is a major step in the right direction toward making our state safer for the general population. So, please Governor Dayton, do the right thing, as many other states have, and sign HF 1467 into law.**************************The whole premise of your point, is increasingly violent crime, that premise to start with, is totally not true, violent crimes, in fact, all crimes, have literally been cut in half in the last 20 years. Your not going to protect the second amendment with false rhetoric. You have to be strictly concise and accurate. This bill is only as good as what it says. If they pushed the boundary's to far then it will probably be vetoed , this is something that has to be done in small steps.

The idea of shooting someone because you feel threatened has to be completely and absolutely verified by supporting testimony , and just being threatened in your mind is not enough. it has to be real. and if the bill is written suggesting anything other then that, it's a bad bill and should be dumped