By Rep. Paul Anderson
Our country has been saddened again by yet another senseless school shooting. Our prayers go out to those families affected as they deal with the unimaginable grief of losing a loved one. We ask ourselves why…why do these tragedies occur, and how do we stop them from happening again.
It is imperative that we make our schools safer. That’s the one thing that will result in an immediate lowering of the danger level. How we do that is still to be decided. Topics such as metal detectors at building entrances or armed personnel in school buildings should be discussed locally at school board meetings. In Minnesota, it’s already permissible for those with consent-to-carry permits to be armed while in school, with the written consent of administration.
It appears that some in our society have become de-sensitized to violence and death. With all the violent video games available today, along with graphic movies and even some television programming, it may seem to some that violence has no lasting consequence. Just count up your score and start the game over. That’s not the way it works in real life. Guns and knives and bombs are real and, used for the wrong purpose, can have lasting consequences.
After these real-life incidents, we see parents on the news trying to describe what it’s like to lose a child, forever. We see students grieving after losing their best friends and classmates. Together, we as a nation need to address this problem and come up with solutions that work.
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The opening week of session was highlighted by passage of a bill that, once again, funds the Minnesota Legislature. As you may recall, those same funds were line-item vetoed last year by Gov. Dayton. That move led to drawn-out court action that really didn’t address the central question; that being, yes, the governor has the right to line-item veto spending appropriations, but does that include the funding for another, supposedly equal, branch of government?
With the passage of this new legislation and the assurance from the governor that he will sign it, funding for the current biennium will be restored. However, the nagging question remains as to a future governor’s power to deny funding if legislation he or she favors is not passed.
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This may fall in the “be careful what you wish for” category: We had been nearly snowless in our part of the state up until last week. Then, the skies opened and we received snow on three separate occasions in the space of a week. By my unofficial count, around 17 inches fell on our farm, which meant getting the tractor and snow blower out and clearing the yard. The white stuff was nearly knee high as I trudged through it on my way to the shed.
The white blanket was certainly pretty, but it also brought us back to the reality of what a Minnesota winter can be. Traveling was also made more difficult as my trip home from St. Paul last week was an adventure. We tried going to a church supper Saturday evening but turned around because the plows hadn’t been out yet and the totally white landscape made it challenging to stay on-course.
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