New gun law is no reason for worry
Joel Rosenberg and Joseph E. Olson
Minneapolis Star-Tribune
May 5, 2003
With the passage of the Minnesota Citizens Personal Protection Act (MPPA)of 2003, and its signature into law by Gov. Tim Pawlenty, there are going to be some changes in Minnesota.
But relax: The sky isn't falling. It isn't going to fall. You won't even see the changes.
The MPPA did change the law about who can own guns -- but only to restrict it. When the law takes effect about a month from now, convicted violent felons will be barred for their entire lives from owning firearms, instead of the 10 years that has been the case.
Minnesotans, even without permits, who are allowed to own firearms will still be able to carry them in their homes or rented property, and their places of business (the MPPA expressly recognizes that employment agreements may limit guns in the workplace) or when traveling between their homes and their places of business. Minnesotans without carry permits who aren't traveling between home and work will still be able to have guns in their cars -- on the seat beside them if they care to -- as long as the guns are unloaded and in a closed, fastened case, just as they can now.
The big change will be in carry permits. Up until now, Minnesota was a "may issue" state, where police chiefs could arbitrarily grant or deny such permits. Right now, around 12,000 Minnesotans have those permits; that number will go up as Minnesota becomes a "shall issue" state.
On a day-to-day basis, you're not going to notice it, and in a few months, even the most hysterical politicians will stop worrying about whether or not the shopper next to them in the supermarket has a "pistol in his parka" -- and not just because it will be summer. In the 33 states that have had such laws, permit holders simply haven't been a problem.
It'll be OK.
Estimates suggest that about 50,000 permits will be issued this year, with more to come over the next couple of years. Which means, on average, that you'll see about four times as many permit holders out in public in the next year as you did in the last year -- but even if that's so, only around one in a hundred Minnesotans will have a permit.
When was the last time you saw a permit holder's handgun? Never? You are still unlikely to see one; four times zero is, after all, still zero.
There are going to be some changes for permit holders -- and if you're worried, the changes should reassure you. The minimum age for permit holders has gone up from 18 to 21.
Before, permit holders simply had to pass a shooting qualification. Now, permit holders will have to pass an approved training course, which will still include a shooting qualification, as well as training in the law about the use of force and other matters.
Before, there were no legal restrictions on drinking and carrying. Now, permit holders will be held to a blood alcohol standard of .04 -- a standard more than twice as strict as that for drivers -- with serious penalties if they violate it.
Before the MPPA, store owners who were uncomfortable with the notion of permit holders in their stores had no way to prohibit them. Now, if you're worried about the idea of permit holders in your store, you can post a sign forbidding handguns. After that, if you notice somebody with a handgun in your store, you may ask them to leave. They will, of course. If they didn't leave after you'd specifically asked them to, they'd be breaking the law.
The new law also will restrict guns in schools more than is the case now. Up until now, permit holders were free to carry their handguns in schools. Now a permit holder will need written permission from the school principal to bring a handgun out of the parking lot and into the school.
You've probably heard claims that the passing of the MPPA means "50,000 more guns on the street." No, it doesn't. By taking away the right of convicted felons to own firearms, it may end up meaning fewer "guns on the street." But the real problem isn't the guns, but people carrying them illegally and using them irresponsibly. In the 33 "shall issue" states, permit holders have shown themselves a remarkably law-abiding lot. You don't have any reason to worry about your law-abiding neighbors.
Criminals do, though, and if the results in Minnesota are anything like they've been in any of the other "shall issue" states, you'll see a small but noticeable drop in violent crime, as criminals either move out of the state, or substitute property crime for violent crime.
Every time one of these laws has passed, it's met with a hysterical chorus of dire predictions about "blood in the streets," and warnings that "every fender-bender or bar fight will turn into a shootout," and so forth.
And that's been particularly so in Minnesota. You've read dire predictions like that on this page. In every case, these dire predictions have been proven, in time, to be false.
The sky isn't falling.
It'll be fine.
Joel Rosenberg is a Minneapolis author and AACFI certified firearms instructor.
Joseph E. Olson, also an AACFI sertified firearms instructor, is an attorney and a professor of law at Hamline University in St. Paul. Contact www.aacfi.com for more information.
Joel Rosenberg and Joseph E. Olson
Minneapolis Star-Tribune
May 5, 2003
With the passage of the Minnesota Citizens Personal Protection Act (MPPA)of 2003, and its signature into law by Gov. Tim Pawlenty, there are going to be some changes in Minnesota.
But relax: The sky isn't falling. It isn't going to fall. You won't even see the changes.
The MPPA did change the law about who can own guns -- but only to restrict it. When the law takes effect about a month from now, convicted violent felons will be barred for their entire lives from owning firearms, instead of the 10 years that has been the case.
Minnesotans, even without permits, who are allowed to own firearms will still be able to carry them in their homes or rented property, and their places of business (the MPPA expressly recognizes that employment agreements may limit guns in the workplace) or when traveling between their homes and their places of business. Minnesotans without carry permits who aren't traveling between home and work will still be able to have guns in their cars -- on the seat beside them if they care to -- as long as the guns are unloaded and in a closed, fastened case, just as they can now.
The big change will be in carry permits. Up until now, Minnesota was a "may issue" state, where police chiefs could arbitrarily grant or deny such permits. Right now, around 12,000 Minnesotans have those permits; that number will go up as Minnesota becomes a "shall issue" state.
On a day-to-day basis, you're not going to notice it, and in a few months, even the most hysterical politicians will stop worrying about whether or not the shopper next to them in the supermarket has a "pistol in his parka" -- and not just because it will be summer. In the 33 states that have had such laws, permit holders simply haven't been a problem.
It'll be OK.
Estimates suggest that about 50,000 permits will be issued this year, with more to come over the next couple of years. Which means, on average, that you'll see about four times as many permit holders out in public in the next year as you did in the last year -- but even if that's so, only around one in a hundred Minnesotans will have a permit.
When was the last time you saw a permit holder's handgun? Never? You are still unlikely to see one; four times zero is, after all, still zero.
There are going to be some changes for permit holders -- and if you're worried, the changes should reassure you. The minimum age for permit holders has gone up from 18 to 21.
Before, permit holders simply had to pass a shooting qualification. Now, permit holders will have to pass an approved training course, which will still include a shooting qualification, as well as training in the law about the use of force and other matters.
Before, there were no legal restrictions on drinking and carrying. Now, permit holders will be held to a blood alcohol standard of .04 -- a standard more than twice as strict as that for drivers -- with serious penalties if they violate it.
Before the MPPA, store owners who were uncomfortable with the notion of permit holders in their stores had no way to prohibit them. Now, if you're worried about the idea of permit holders in your store, you can post a sign forbidding handguns. After that, if you notice somebody with a handgun in your store, you may ask them to leave. They will, of course. If they didn't leave after you'd specifically asked them to, they'd be breaking the law.
The new law also will restrict guns in schools more than is the case now. Up until now, permit holders were free to carry their handguns in schools. Now a permit holder will need written permission from the school principal to bring a handgun out of the parking lot and into the school.
You've probably heard claims that the passing of the MPPA means "50,000 more guns on the street." No, it doesn't. By taking away the right of convicted felons to own firearms, it may end up meaning fewer "guns on the street." But the real problem isn't the guns, but people carrying them illegally and using them irresponsibly. In the 33 "shall issue" states, permit holders have shown themselves a remarkably law-abiding lot. You don't have any reason to worry about your law-abiding neighbors.
Criminals do, though, and if the results in Minnesota are anything like they've been in any of the other "shall issue" states, you'll see a small but noticeable drop in violent crime, as criminals either move out of the state, or substitute property crime for violent crime.
Every time one of these laws has passed, it's met with a hysterical chorus of dire predictions about "blood in the streets," and warnings that "every fender-bender or bar fight will turn into a shootout," and so forth.
And that's been particularly so in Minnesota. You've read dire predictions like that on this page. In every case, these dire predictions have been proven, in time, to be false.
The sky isn't falling.
It'll be fine.
Joel Rosenberg is a Minneapolis author and AACFI certified firearms instructor.
Joseph E. Olson, also an AACFI sertified firearms instructor, is an attorney and a professor of law at Hamline University in St. Paul. Contact www.aacfi.com for more information.
