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Guns a loaded issue in governor's race MN
Josey1
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Guns a loaded issue in governor's race
BY JIM RAGSDALE
Pioneer Press
Minnesota's gubernatorial candidates are in the bull's-eye this year.
The man who becomes Minnesota's governor in January will inherit an emotional debate over whether to allow more Minnesotans to carry loaded, concealed weapons in their purses and pockets for self-defense.
A polarizing, high-risk issue for all of the candidates, the fight over concealed weapons is no longer a theoretical argument. The Legislature is one or two votes from passing a bill that would dramatically change current concealed-weapons policy. If that happens, the new governor would decide whether it would become law or be vetoed.
"I don't think you can sugarcoat this one," said Bill Gillespie, executive director of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, which has fought changes in the law as a threat to public safety. "It's too important. It's life and death.''
The issue has crept into the governor's race in recent weeks, primarily because of a series of statements made by Independence Party candidate Tim Penny. His chief opponents, Democratic-Farmer-Laborite Roger Moe and Republican Tim Pawlenty, said Penny is hiding in his "sensible center'' to artfully dodge or purposely obscure a critical issue. Penny responded that his views are consistent but not in "lock step'' with any interest group.
Under current law, a citizen seeking a permit to carry a concealed weapon in public places in Minnesota must show an occupational need or a specific public safety threat. Local police chiefs have broad discretion in deciding who gets the permits, and it is believed that few permits are issued in high-crime urban areas.
Bills supported by the National Rifle Association and local gun-rights groups were passed by the GOP-controlled Minnesota House in 2001 and narrowly blocked by the DFL-controlled Senate in 2001 and again this year. The bills would have ensured that adults who meet requirements - proper training, no serious criminal offenses or history of severe mental illness - would get permits.
No showing of need would be required, and local chiefs would lose much of their discretion in deciding who in their town could carry weapons. Most officials believe more permits would be issued under the proposed changes. State researchers once estimated that 50,000 permits could be taken out in the first year under the new law, but that is considered a rough guess.
Pawlenty, who voted for the concealed-weapons changes, supports the bill. Gun-rights groups consider him a friend. Moe, who voted to block the bill, opposes it, and the state police officers group is backing Moe. Green Party candidate Ken Pentel also opposes changes in concealed-carry policy.
Penny's views are less clear. He initially said he wanted a compromise on the issue. At a recent forum on the Iron Range, he said he supported the bill but wanted to make sure police could make accurate criminal background checks. In a debate Thursday, he said the concealed-weapons bill has to have assurances about background checks. He said that at this point, he could not support the bill Pawlenty voted for last year.
John Caile, communications director for Concealed Carry Reform Now, the Minnesota group backing changes in the concealed-weapons system, called Pawlenty "the only choice for gun owners.'' Gillespie of the Police and Peace Officers Association praised Moe's work for fighting "efforts to radically change the state's concealed-carry law'' and added, "Moe has been with us every step of the way.'' But the Minneapolis police union has endorsed Pawlenty, saying it does not fear the concealed-weapons changes he advocates.
The issue has reached a boiling point in the Legislature in the last two years, fanned by support from the National Rifle Association and local gun-rights groups.
According to the NRA, 32 states now have such laws, most of them adopted in the last 15 years. Supporters argue that people have an inherent right to defend themselves, and that crime will go down if law-abiding citizens have the same firepower as criminals. Opponents, including police groups and guncontrol advocates, argue that road rage and routine disputes could escalate into shootings if more people carry guns in public.
Here are candidates' views:
Pawlenty said he thinks the current community-by-community system of granting permits is unfair. In some rural counties, he said, it is relatively easy to get a permit, while in other areas, it is impossible. "The whole thing is subjective,'' Pawlenty said.
He said other states have not experienced significant increases in gunplay after adopting the new, standardized permit guidelines. He said he believes that new training requirements, background checks and limits on bringing the weapons to schools mean that in some areas, the new system may be more rigorous than the current law.
While Moe was endorsed by the 7,000-member state police officers' group because of his position, Pawlenty won the endorsement of the 900-member Minneapolis Officers Federation of Minneapolis. Sgt. John Delmonico, president of the Minneapolis federation, said Pawlenty sought his group's advice on the bill, and Delmonico said he believes it will be a better system than the current law.
Moe, long an opponent of the concealed-weapons bill, said he would support the right of a denied applicant to appeal the decision, but he does not want a "wide-open'' permit system that bypasses the judgment of local law enforcement officials.
"I'm the one that has said that decision ought to continue to remain in the hands of the local sheriff and chief of police,'' Moe said. "I do not think our kids are going to be safer on the streets if there are more loaded, concealed weapons out there.''
Gillespie, of the statewide officers' group that endorsed Moe, said the ability to check criminal records and mental health histories is an imperfect science. That's why local officers need discretion in deciding which permits to approve in their communities, he said. The officers' opposition played a major role in blocking the bill over the last two years.
Penny is proud of having voted for and against both sides of the dispute. As a member of Congress, he sided with the NRA in opposing the Brady bill's five-day waiting period for handgun purchases. But he voted with gun-control advocates in supporting a ban on assault weapons. His position on concealed-carry legislation is similarly nuanced, triggering criticism for "waffling'' from his opponents.
"Law-abiding gun owners are not the problem,'' Penny said in a Sept. 5 forum in Virginia. "Gun control and crime control are not synonymous.'' He told a questioner he would support a concealed-weapons bill, but he added that he wants to make sure that police have accurate background information on applicants.
In the debate Thursday, he said he will "not sign a bill that does not take into account the legitimate concerns of law enforcement.''
In an interview, Penny explained that he hopes he can resolve his concerns about background checks. He said he would prefer to change the law from a "probably not'' permit system to a "probably will'' system. "We're basically talking about issuing permits to people who have broken no laws and are not likely to break any,'' Penny said.
Pentel said he would veto a bill expanding access to concealed-weapons permits if it reached his desk. "We already have generally enough guns in society,'' he said. "I'm concerned about making it more lethal.'' Like Moe, he would leave the discretion in the hands of local law enforcement officers.
"The more guns in society, the more risk,'' Pentel said, adding that he would also like to try to reduce the weaponry in the U.S. military. "I'd also like to focus on big guns,'' he said. "The military, the Pentagon, are out of control.''
http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/news/politics/4070438.htmJim Ragsdale covers state government and politics and can be contacted at jragsdale@pioneerpress.com or (651) 228-5529.
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
BY JIM RAGSDALE
Pioneer Press
Minnesota's gubernatorial candidates are in the bull's-eye this year.
The man who becomes Minnesota's governor in January will inherit an emotional debate over whether to allow more Minnesotans to carry loaded, concealed weapons in their purses and pockets for self-defense.
A polarizing, high-risk issue for all of the candidates, the fight over concealed weapons is no longer a theoretical argument. The Legislature is one or two votes from passing a bill that would dramatically change current concealed-weapons policy. If that happens, the new governor would decide whether it would become law or be vetoed.
"I don't think you can sugarcoat this one," said Bill Gillespie, executive director of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, which has fought changes in the law as a threat to public safety. "It's too important. It's life and death.''
The issue has crept into the governor's race in recent weeks, primarily because of a series of statements made by Independence Party candidate Tim Penny. His chief opponents, Democratic-Farmer-Laborite Roger Moe and Republican Tim Pawlenty, said Penny is hiding in his "sensible center'' to artfully dodge or purposely obscure a critical issue. Penny responded that his views are consistent but not in "lock step'' with any interest group.
Under current law, a citizen seeking a permit to carry a concealed weapon in public places in Minnesota must show an occupational need or a specific public safety threat. Local police chiefs have broad discretion in deciding who gets the permits, and it is believed that few permits are issued in high-crime urban areas.
Bills supported by the National Rifle Association and local gun-rights groups were passed by the GOP-controlled Minnesota House in 2001 and narrowly blocked by the DFL-controlled Senate in 2001 and again this year. The bills would have ensured that adults who meet requirements - proper training, no serious criminal offenses or history of severe mental illness - would get permits.
No showing of need would be required, and local chiefs would lose much of their discretion in deciding who in their town could carry weapons. Most officials believe more permits would be issued under the proposed changes. State researchers once estimated that 50,000 permits could be taken out in the first year under the new law, but that is considered a rough guess.
Pawlenty, who voted for the concealed-weapons changes, supports the bill. Gun-rights groups consider him a friend. Moe, who voted to block the bill, opposes it, and the state police officers group is backing Moe. Green Party candidate Ken Pentel also opposes changes in concealed-carry policy.
Penny's views are less clear. He initially said he wanted a compromise on the issue. At a recent forum on the Iron Range, he said he supported the bill but wanted to make sure police could make accurate criminal background checks. In a debate Thursday, he said the concealed-weapons bill has to have assurances about background checks. He said that at this point, he could not support the bill Pawlenty voted for last year.
John Caile, communications director for Concealed Carry Reform Now, the Minnesota group backing changes in the concealed-weapons system, called Pawlenty "the only choice for gun owners.'' Gillespie of the Police and Peace Officers Association praised Moe's work for fighting "efforts to radically change the state's concealed-carry law'' and added, "Moe has been with us every step of the way.'' But the Minneapolis police union has endorsed Pawlenty, saying it does not fear the concealed-weapons changes he advocates.
The issue has reached a boiling point in the Legislature in the last two years, fanned by support from the National Rifle Association and local gun-rights groups.
According to the NRA, 32 states now have such laws, most of them adopted in the last 15 years. Supporters argue that people have an inherent right to defend themselves, and that crime will go down if law-abiding citizens have the same firepower as criminals. Opponents, including police groups and guncontrol advocates, argue that road rage and routine disputes could escalate into shootings if more people carry guns in public.
Here are candidates' views:
Pawlenty said he thinks the current community-by-community system of granting permits is unfair. In some rural counties, he said, it is relatively easy to get a permit, while in other areas, it is impossible. "The whole thing is subjective,'' Pawlenty said.
He said other states have not experienced significant increases in gunplay after adopting the new, standardized permit guidelines. He said he believes that new training requirements, background checks and limits on bringing the weapons to schools mean that in some areas, the new system may be more rigorous than the current law.
While Moe was endorsed by the 7,000-member state police officers' group because of his position, Pawlenty won the endorsement of the 900-member Minneapolis Officers Federation of Minneapolis. Sgt. John Delmonico, president of the Minneapolis federation, said Pawlenty sought his group's advice on the bill, and Delmonico said he believes it will be a better system than the current law.
Moe, long an opponent of the concealed-weapons bill, said he would support the right of a denied applicant to appeal the decision, but he does not want a "wide-open'' permit system that bypasses the judgment of local law enforcement officials.
"I'm the one that has said that decision ought to continue to remain in the hands of the local sheriff and chief of police,'' Moe said. "I do not think our kids are going to be safer on the streets if there are more loaded, concealed weapons out there.''
Gillespie, of the statewide officers' group that endorsed Moe, said the ability to check criminal records and mental health histories is an imperfect science. That's why local officers need discretion in deciding which permits to approve in their communities, he said. The officers' opposition played a major role in blocking the bill over the last two years.
Penny is proud of having voted for and against both sides of the dispute. As a member of Congress, he sided with the NRA in opposing the Brady bill's five-day waiting period for handgun purchases. But he voted with gun-control advocates in supporting a ban on assault weapons. His position on concealed-carry legislation is similarly nuanced, triggering criticism for "waffling'' from his opponents.
"Law-abiding gun owners are not the problem,'' Penny said in a Sept. 5 forum in Virginia. "Gun control and crime control are not synonymous.'' He told a questioner he would support a concealed-weapons bill, but he added that he wants to make sure that police have accurate background information on applicants.
In the debate Thursday, he said he will "not sign a bill that does not take into account the legitimate concerns of law enforcement.''
In an interview, Penny explained that he hopes he can resolve his concerns about background checks. He said he would prefer to change the law from a "probably not'' permit system to a "probably will'' system. "We're basically talking about issuing permits to people who have broken no laws and are not likely to break any,'' Penny said.
Pentel said he would veto a bill expanding access to concealed-weapons permits if it reached his desk. "We already have generally enough guns in society,'' he said. "I'm concerned about making it more lethal.'' Like Moe, he would leave the discretion in the hands of local law enforcement officers.
"The more guns in society, the more risk,'' Pentel said, adding that he would also like to try to reduce the weaponry in the U.S. military. "I'd also like to focus on big guns,'' he said. "The military, the Pentagon, are out of control.''
http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/news/politics/4070438.htmJim Ragsdale covers state government and politics and can be contacted at jragsdale@pioneerpress.com or (651) 228-5529.
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878