House File 953, Transfer of pistols or semiautomatic military-style assault weapons provisions modified, is a bill designed to kill the rights of law-abiding gun owners in a way that has never been accomplished in Minnesota.
This bill will allow a fee for permits to purchase, with no legal cap on that fee. A permit to carry will no longer qualify as a permit to purchase. That means, if Minneapolis wants to charge $1000 for a permit to purchase, you will be forced to comply.
Further, all sales will have to be reported to the police, in detail, which is not currently required or even allowed! All records will be open for government perusal, without cause or justification.
It also broadens the definition of "restricted person" in a way that can't possibly predict the consequences. It removes state control over who may or may not possess firearms legally.
This bill targets ONLY law-abiding gun owners. Criminals don't buy guns legally. They are already prohibited. This will have no effect on crime, except to create a safer working environment for violent criminals.
There are several people on the committee who are currently undecided. Please, if you live in their districts, or know someone who does, call your representatives and help get this bill killed!
Vice Chair: Karla Bigham (DFL) 57A 651-296-4342 rep.karla.bigham@house.mn
Gail Kulick Jackson (DFL) 16A 651-296-6746 rep.gailkulick.jackson@house.mn
Kory Kath (DFL) 26A 651-296-5368 rep.kory.kath@house.mn
Sandra Masin (DFL) 38A 651-296-3533 rep.sandra.masin@house.mn
Paul Rosenthal (DFL) 41B 651-296-7803 rep.paul.rosenthal@house.mn
The Minnesota Gun Owners Civil Rights Alliance is preparing an E-Blast on this topic, which I will be forwarding as soon as it is available.
Remember, gun rights are a sign of liberty. If you don't defend your rights, you will lose them.
The Constitution shall never be construed...to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms.
—Samuel Adams
Starting with our most recent class, veterans are now able to take our class for free. This does not include the book, Everything You Need to Know about (Legally) Carrying a Handgun in Minnesota, or the range fee. We offer the book below sticker price for $20 and the range fee is less than $20.
If you know a veteran, please pass this along. This is our way of saying thanks.
"A veteran - whether active duty, retired, National Guard or Reserve - is someone who at one point in his life wrote a blank check made payable to the United States of America for an amount of 'up to and including my life.'
That is honor. There are far too many people in this country who don't understand it."
Author Unknown
Legal Update:
As covered here before, on Independence Day in Rochester, Tim Rose stopped a reckless driver from continuing to drive through a park full of children by pointing his gun at the driver. He was charged with "Dangerous Weapons-Intentionally Point a Gun" and is scheduled for trial on February 25th.
If you use your gun in defense of yourself or another, please remember to reference your attorney in answer to any and all questions from the police. After a lethal force encounter is not the time to engage with the police. Protect yourself and your freedom by using an attorney.
The true measure of a man’s integrity is not what he will do, but rather what he won’t do.
-Flannery O’Connor
Upcoming Class: March 21st at 9:30AM. If you're interested, please register here(http://www.metrodefense.com/index.php?page=classes). Price is $130 for an individual, which includes a copy of the book, Everything You Need to Know about (Legally) Carrying a Handgun in Minnesota and all range fees.
Couples, renewals, and pre-paid registrations all receive various discounts, detailed on our website, or by calling either (612) 385-9100 or (612)618-7430
There are no hidden fees in our class. Bring some ammunition and the $130 fee is your total cost.
Just a reminder, we're offering a referral bonus! After you take our carry class, for every new paid student you send our way, we'll send you $20. Refer seven friends, and you've made a profit on taking our class!
As always, if you've taken our class, you are welcome to come back for a refresher.
A free people [claim] their rights as derived from the laws of nature, and not as the gift of their chief magistrate.
-Thomas Jefferson
For the benefit of our active duty military subscribers, the NRA is offering complimentary memberships, with all benefits, as a way of saying thank you. Details here. (http://www.nra.org/supportourtroops/Default.aspx)
On behalf of the nearly four million members of the National Rifle Association of America, thank you for serving our country! We deeply appreciate your sacrifice, and would like to offer you a complimentary one-year membership in the NRA as a token of our gratitude and respect. Your membership will include all regular benefits of membership, including a subscription to your choice of our three flagship magazines.If you are not an active-duty member of our Armed Services, but would like to continue to help NRA provide FREE memberships, please click here.
If you are an active-duty member of our Armed Services, please complete all fields below in order to receive your free membership. Please understand that this offer is open only to active-duty personnel. Thank you... And welcome to the NRA!
Gun control is like trying to reduce drunk driving by making it tougher for sober people to own cars.
Here is a legislative prediction from GOCRA, our local gun right organization:
The attached message concerns the anti-gunners' federal push. There will be "mirror legislation" in Minnesota in case the federal effort fails. THAT we at GOCRA have to fight and defeat locally.
Expect:
1. A state UNIVERSAL BACKGROUND CHECK (and hidden GUN REGISTRATION) bill from Rep. Michael Paymar (DFL, St. Paul).
2. An expansion of the "mental health" DISABILITIES contained in state law (notwithstanding that the Congress fixed the Va. Tech. "problem," if any, last year). This will come from gubernatorial candidate Rep. Paul Thessin (DFL, Minneapolis).
3. Something bad from the Chair of the House Public Safety Committee. Rep. Joe Mullary (DFL, Minneapolis) needs to polish his credentials with the local anti-gun groups in return for the big DFL victories in 2008.
4. Anti-gun rhetoric, at least, from gubernatorial candidate Sen. John Marty (DFL, Roseville) who proposed REGISTRATION and GUN BANS as part of his last campaign for Governor.
[Also planned]:
DFL to take advantage of the financial crisis to screw gun owners.
Not "gun control" but revenue enhancement. Only reason for it is that there is a financial crisis and "we need the money."
Raise permit fees to outrageous amount and reintroduce partial discretion. Here's how.
* $100 fee for 5-year OCCUPATIONAL & NEED permits. Sheriff decides who qualifies.
* $500-1000 fee for 5-year PERSONAL PROTECTION permits. Maybe per year payable in advance ($2500-5000). Objective criteria unchanged.
Professor Joe Olson, GOCRA President
“Sure I wave the American flag. Do you know a better flag to wave? Sure I love my country with all her faults. I’m not ashamed of that, never have been, never will be.”
—John Wayne
Security in Your Home, Part 3: Locks
Continuing in the series, we’ll move on to the locks layer. Locks are the most basic protection/warning device you can have against intruders. Locks are designed to slow an intruder and cause the intruder to make noise while bypassing the lock.
Your doors should be locked regardless of the time of day. Home invasions can and do occur at all hours. Intruders no longer save their activities for the dark half of the day. You should have a heavy-duty strike-plate and you should always use at least 3 inch screws to secure the strike-plate. This will secure the strike plate to the wall framing, instead of to the door trim. There are also "full-height" strike plates available. These are steel trim extending the height of the door. Attach this with 3" screws, and it becomes very difficult to kick in your door.
Ideally, your exterior doors will be solid doors, as opposed to solid-core(wood-filled) or solid-core(foam filled). A steel-clad wooden door or a steel-center solid-core door are acceptable choices.
You should invest in a secure set of locks that are resistant to bump-keying. Look for the ANSI rating on the locks. An ANSI Grade 1 lock is twice as secure as ANSI Grade 2. Grade 3 should not be considered for an exterior door. Kwikset is currently marketing ANSI Grade 1, bumpkey-resistant lock sets to the residential market for a reasonable price. Schlage and Medeco both have high-end lines of lock sets that are very secure. There are others, so please don't consider this to be an all-exclusive list of locks. Do some research before you buy the primary means of securing your home.
If you have a window within arm's reach of your deadbolt, get a double-cylinder deadbolt that requires a key to unlock.
These considerations also apply to a door leading to an attached garage. The connection between your house and garage should always be considered an external entry point. If an intruder has access to your garage, he can attempt to circumvent the entry to the house in complete privacy.
Your patio door is also a prime point of vulnerability. Putting a broomstick in the bottom track isn't enough. Invest in a $13 "Charlie Bar" to keep that door secure. A Charlie Bar is mounted at the vertical middle of the stationary panel of your patio door. It removes the leverage that a stick at the bottom of the door leaves available to an intruder. Some versions can be set to allow the door to open a few inches for air flow.
If someone claiming to be law enforcement is at your door and you are suspicious about that claim (e.g. no squad car visible), lack of appropriate attire or credentials), simply call the 911 dispatcher to get confirmation of their identity. No legitimate law enforcement officer is going to be offended when you verify their identity.
Your windows should also be locked. Casement (crank) windows or double-hung windows with a pin-lock or brace provide more security than regular double hung windows left open. If you can’t secure a window while it is partially open, it should be closed and locked on any floor of the home.
Lock your car in the driveway. If you have a garage door opener in your car, this could give easy access to your home. If you have personal papers in your car, this opens you up to identity theft.
If at all possible, consider locking your bedroom door at night. This can mean the difference between waking up to an intruder standing over you and waking up to someone trying to break down your bedroom door. This isn't always possible, or desirable, especially if you have children.
Until next time,
Jason and Mike
Metro Defense Training, LLC
http://www.MetroDefense.com
"In matters of style, swim with the current; In matters of principle, stand like a rock "
- Thomas Jefferson
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