Dear Neighbor,
Thanks to everyone who once again made a local town hall meeting a strong success, with close to 200 people showing up for an event in Detroit Lakes last weekend. Another town hall meeting is scheduled for 2 p.m. this Sunday (March 26) at the Lions Community Center in Verndale (109 1st Ave. SE). These are grass-roots events that have been great for sparking constructive conversations among area residents. The input is well received and very much appreciated.
As for notes from the Capitol:
Bad ATV bill (appears) on hold
A bill that would restrict ATVs and be very detrimental to our part of the state appears to be on hold this session thanks, in part, to a tremendous volume of outreach from Minnesotans who oppose this legislation. As written, H.F. 2791 would prohibit the use of ATVs in numerous places, particularly within 300 feet of a public water that supports aquatic life, or 150 feet from a public water that does not support aquatic life.
ATVs are crucial to our way of life in this part of the state, both for the people who live here and for the tax dollars and tourist revenue they deliver. Banishing ATVs from traveling within 300 feet of a lake would be an unworkable restriction in regions of the state such as ours where, in some cases, we don’t even have 300 feet of real estate between lakes.
The good news is the House bill did not receive a hearing before the initial deadline to remain viable, and I am told the Senate version is now on hold. While that’s a promising development, we still need to keep an eye on this and remember to never say “never” in the Legislature.
Watching gun-control bills
House Democrats have assembled the governor's public safety omnibus bill, with numerous proposals on that subject all jumbled together in one package. I’ve been around the House long enough to see how this is going to play out:
The omnibus package includes funding for law enforcement people in our district strongly support, which is good. The bad news is the same package also includes numerous gun-control provisions we all oppose. In other words, a vote for the police funding is a vote for gun control. A vote against gun control is a vote against police funding.
The governor already is priming the pump on his messaging. After Democrats demonized law enforcement and called to defund the police, it looks like they could attempt to flip the script and say Republicans don’t support cops. This would be the height of political gamesmanship by politicizing something as important as public safety, but you can see it coming a mile away. It’s honestly surprising it has taken them this long to play this card.
As for the gun-control provisions themselves, the governor's omnibus public safety package includes background checks/universal gun registration, red flag confiscation orders, limits on magazines and requires a person to be 21 years or older to purchase a handgun or semi-automatic firearm. Storage legislation from H.F. 396 is not in the bill as of now but, once again, we need to watch for it because it’s lurking in the weeds and could be added later.
Call to action(s)
The aforementioned governor's public safety package is scheduled for a hearing later this morning, which makes this a great time for people to click here to check out the bill and find contact information to provide the author with your thoughts. I may circle back with more thoughts depending on how that hearing goes.
Also, there is a Second Amendment rally at the Capitol in St. Paul 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Saturday (March 25) if you would like to show up and support the cause.
Until next time, please stay in touch.
Sincerely,
Matt