NRA Members Send 3,736 Letters to Lawmakers in Support of Gun Rights

Fairfax, Va. – Minnesota members and supporters of the National Rifle Association in recent days have sent 3,736 email letters to members of the Minnesota Senate Judiciary Committee in support of gun rights. The Senate Judiciary Committee heard public testimony today on Senate File 2493, a bill that would criminalize common place practices of law-abiding gun owners, and Senate File 2980, a bill that could leave victims of domestic violence unable to defend themselves. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is pushing these bills in Minnesota as part of the Obama-Bloomberg gun control agenda.

 “These bills are part of the Obama-Bloomberg gun control agenda and offer up a false sense of safety while infringing upon the rights of law-abiding gun owners and those who wish to lawfully purchase a firearm,” Catherine Mortensen, NRA Spokesperson. “They will do nothing to prevent criminals from obtaining firearms and will only put an unnecessary burden upon law-abiding citizens.” 

Senate File 2493 would dramatically expand background checks to all sales and transfers of firearms in the state of Minnesota, with very limited and narrow exceptions.  This bill would criminalize common place practices of law-abiding citizens who hunt, engage in recreational shooting sports, and exercise their Second Amendment for self-defense.

Background information on SF 2493

• According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 77% of criminals obtain guns through theft, on the black market, from drug dealers and other illicit sources.  Criminals, by definition, do not follow the law and are not going to subject themselves to a background check to acquire a firearm. Clearly, this proposal will do nothing to prevent criminals from illegally obtaining firearms.  
• Examples of how common place practices of law-abiding gun owners would be criminalized under SF 2493:

1. A hunter who takes a close friend, neighbor, or even a cousin, hunting could face criminal charges if he shares his firearm with his friend depending on whether hunting is legal in all places where the friend possesses the firearm.  This means that if the friend or relative possesses the firearm while crossing a road or other area where hunting isn’t legal, the hunter could be prosecuted because the friend’s possession would no longer fit within the narrow language of the provided exception.   
2. A member of the military could face criminal charges for having a friend store his firearms while he or she is deployed overseas.
3. A person who is a victim of a stalker or domestic violence, but cannot afford to purchase a firearm for self-defense, would not be able to borrow a firearm from a friend, until the very moment her attacker is standing over her with a deadly weapon.

Senate File 2980 would allow a family or household member or guardian to petition the court to prohibit an individual from possessing firearms.  This petition strips the accused of their Second Amendment rights and would be issued by a judge based solely on a single sworn statement of an accuser before the accused can appear in court to defend themselves against the allegations. 

Background information on SF 2980

• If signed into law, it would clearly go against a person’s constitutional right to tell their side of the story to a judge before stripping them of the Second Amendment rights.
• If signed into law, it would be open to abuse by estranged domestic partners who might seek to take away their partner’s rights out of revenge or spite.
• It could leave a victim of domestic violence unable to defend themselves if stripped of their ability to protect themselves.
• A tragic case in New Jersey illustrates the folly of gun control laws. Thirty-nine year old Carol Bowne of Berlin, New Jersey was brutally stabbed to death by her ex-boyfriend. As senseless as this tragedy is, it is even more tragic knowing that Bowne had applied for a firearms permit in an effort to defend herself. Not days, not weeks, but MONTHS prior to her death. Bowne knew the restraining order she was granted on her ex-boyfriend, was only a piece of paper and would not protect her if he chose not to abide by it, which was the case on the night of her untimely death. But New Jersey’s onerous gun control laws and bureaucratic ineptitude prevented Carol Bowne from being able to defend herself that day. This tragedy also illustrates the point that if you take away guns from domestic abusers, they will find other weapons, or acquire a firearm illegally.

Video of Carol Bowne’s story: http://www.nranews.com/ginny/video/ginny-simone-reporting-2015-new-jerseys-deadly-delay/list/ginny-feature