Resolving public policy disputes in a democracy generally involves serious debate and compromise. Most often, the solution does not come from the far ends of the political spectrum but from somewhere in the middle.
I’ve covered the news and people who drive public debate for more than 40 years. I’ve met very few people who are 100 percent right or 100 percent wrong about an issue. But I’ve received a series of emails the last couple of weeks that challenges that experience.
The folks at Minnesota Gun Rights are trying to build support to block gun safety laws in the next session of the Minnesota Legislature. Apparently, their opposition to red flag laws and universal background checks isn’t enough to attract a crowd, so they’ve come up with a novel idea.
Here’s the pitch from the email:
“From right now until Monday at midnight is your LAST chance to enter our drawing to win your very own SIG P229 – the same pistol the Secret Service uses to protect President Donald Trump!… This is the gun the Secret Service uses to protect President Trump from the hordes of violent anti-gun leftists.
“With the 2020 legislative session coming up quickly, I need to get a feel for how mobilized gun owners are statewide, so if you haven’t already done so, please fill out your ‘NO WAY on Red Flag Gun Seizures’ pledge right away and let me know if you intend to FIGHT BACK this coming session!”
The email includes an eye-catching graphic with a photo of the handgun offered in the raffle and a drawing of an American Revolution militiaman complete with a tricorn hat. But instead of taking aim with a musket, he’s ready to shoot with an assault rifle. That battlefield weapon would have really mowed down the Redcoats.
During the last legislative session, the DFL-controlled state House of Representatives passed two gun-safety actions, but the Republican-controlled Senate opposed them. The first proposal would have expanded background checks to private gun sales. Exceptions would be made for firearm transfers to an immediate family member, transfers while hunting, at a shooting competition or at a gun range.
The second would have allowed law enforcement to remove a person’s firearms if they are believed to pose a danger to themselves or others.
That failed attempt to enact widely supported gun-safety measures riled up Minnesota Gun Rights and they even attacked the Republican leaders who blocked Senate action.
From the email:
“They know the ONLY reason gun-grabbers in St. Paul were unable to pass ‘Universal Gun Registration’ and ‘Red Flag Gun Seizure’ legislation this past session in St. Paul is because of the ferocious defense of our freedoms that the members of Minnesota Gun Rights maintained.
“But with our Senate Republican leadership team under Majority Leader Paul Gazelka being perhaps the weakest in the country (if not the very weakest) gun-grabbers like Senator Ron Latz and his pals are licking their chops – convinced next year will be their time to ram ‘Red Flag Gun Seizure’ legislation into law.”
We need a serious debate on gun safety. Proposals include banning battlefield weapons and high-capacity magazines, red flag laws and universal background checks.
The Minnesota Gun Rights group’s rhetoric falls far outside a serious, urgent debate with their handgun giveaway and assault-rifle toting minuteman.
