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from the Minneapolis Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/3907224.html
http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/3907224.html
Debut of handgun law prompts debate anew
Conrad deFiebre, Star Tribune
Published May 29, 2003 GUNS29
Debate over Minnesota's new handgun law stepped up sharply as the measure took effect Wednesday, but its legislative sponsors wrote it off as "a lot of hysteria."
"Would 34 other states really look the other way while public safety was being endangered?" said Rep. Lynda Boudreau, R-Faribault, citing laws similar to the one here. "Not one single state has ever repealed those laws. Why should Minnesota be any different?"
But a gun-control coalition of religious, health, police and social action groups launched a campaign Wednesday to promote weapons-free public places and, eventually, to repeal the law.
"Guns are destructive," Bishop Richard Pates of the Minnesota Catholic Conference said at a rally of 100 supporters on the steps of the Cathedral of St. Paul. "It is enabling to the dark side of human nature. Individuals do have a right to safety, but this right must be tempered by a concern for the common good."
Also on Wednesday, a senior Senate DFLer called on Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty to apologize for signing the handgun bill "without knowing what was in it." Sen. Dean Johnson of Willmar wrote to the governor: "It is my opinion you signed a bill in haste and did not give the legislation the due diligence it required."
Pawlenty spokesman Dan Wolter labeled the letter "11th-hour partisanship" and added: "The governor doesn't intend to apologize."
Meanwhile, Pawlenty's effort to push a one-word change in the law through the Legislature's special session appeared stalled. The House did not consider it Wednesday, and DFL Senate leaders remained unwilling to take it up.
Pawlenty's recommended amendment would allow property owners to bar handguns from their premises by posting a sign or giving a verbal warning, but not require both, as the new law does.
"We believe that change can make the hysteria settle down a little bit," said Senate sponsor Pat Pariseau, R-Farmington.
But Boudreau, the House sponsor, downplayed the proposal, saying: "If it doesn't happen, I think we'll be fine." She also said she would not entertain any other changes in the law.
Gauging the effects
The new law removes decades-old control of police chiefs and sheriffs over the issuance of permits to carry handguns. According to a legislative estimate, it will increase the number of Minnesota permit holders from fewer than 12,000 now to 90,000 in three years.
Pariseau argued that the law is stronger than its predecessor because it raises the minimum age for getting a permit from 18 to 21, requires training and background checks, and bans guns from schools and day-care centers.
But at the cathedral rally, Pates said: "Common sense tells us it will increase gun violence."
He was followed to the podium by Bill Gillespie, executive director of the 7,000-member Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, who had some practical advice for citizens in Minnesota's new handgun environment.
"If you see a gun, please report that to the police," he said. "Call 911; let the professionals deal with the situation." But police themselves are unsure what the law's effects will be, he added, so if you are stopped by an officer for any reason, "keep your hands on the steering wheel."
Pates and Gillespie spoke on behalf of the Coalition to End Gun Violence, which began distributing "action tool kits" to help people understand the new law, lobby legislators and join a lawsuit to change it, and press for widespread prohibitions of handguns on public and private property.
The group is also handing out "GUN-FREE HOME" window decals and signs that businesses can post to bar handguns.
Pariseau said such displays amount to "a signal that this is a safe place for criminals." Added Boudreau: "In other states, those signs kind of disappear in a couple of months."
That's because permit holders don't cause trouble, Pariseau said. In Florida, she noted, only 143 of more than 800,000 licensed gun-toters have had their permits revoked for firearms-related violations. And most of those revocations were for taking handguns into restricted areas, she said.
Under the new Minnesota law, permits cannot be revoked for that kind of breach. The maximum penalty here is a $25 petty misdemeanor, and the law states that the violator's gun cannot be seized.
Conrad deFiebre is at [email protected].
© Copyright 2003 Star Tribune.
