Dear Neighbors,
I hope you had a blessed Easter weekend and were able to spend time with loved ones and family. It was nice to be back home last week as the legislature was on its annual Easter break. We returned to St. Paul on Tuesday afternoon for the final 6 weeks of the 2024 legislative session.
Thank you for your support and I encourage you to continue to reach out to me to share any thoughts, questions, or concerns you may have. My contact information can be found at the bottom of this newsletter.
As my first term in the legislature is reaching its conclusion, it’s hard to believe everything that has happened during the last two years. In 2022, Democrats were swept into power—taking full control of state government. With majorities in the House, Senate, and Tim Walz in the Governor’s Mansion, they could have chosen to demonstrate to Minnesotans their willingness to work with both sides of the aisle on the issues that matter most to us all.
Instead, they have charted a winner-take-all all, my way, or the highway approach to governing.
I believe that good ideas are good ideas and it doesn’t matter who they come from. Unfortunately, Democrats in St. Paul don’t seem to agree and would instead prefer to co-opt ideas from Republican proposals and reintroduce them as their own.
For example, Democrats blocked an effort by House Republicans last month to declare urgency on a bill to strengthen criminal penalties for transferring a firearm to an ineligible person, aka, “straw man” purchases. This urgency declaration coincided with the recent news that an indictment had been filed against someone who allegedly acted as a straw purchaser of the weapons used in the shooting of two police officers and a medic in Burnsville. Unfortunately, Democrats voted down our effort to declare urgency on this bill.
Funnily enough, less than a week later, Democrats introduced legislation eerily similar to the bill authored by Republican Rep. Peggy Scott.
Instead of working with us on the bill and getting it passed weeks earlier, on an issue that all of us support, they rejected our efforts and “cloned” the bill so that it could be authored by a Democrat.
In the meantime, who knows how many straw purchases have happened that would have otherwise been deterred if the criminal penalties were higher?
It really is as simple as because it was a Republican bill, the House Democrat majority wouldn’t let it pass.
There is a lot of room for common ground on a variety of issues, including this one, and it should have been a chance for all of us to come together around legislation that will keep Minnesota safe and hold criminals accountable.
Staying in Touch
Thank you to the Sebeka City Council for representing the voice of their constituents and voting in support of resolutions in opposition to the new state flag and seal and efforts to turn Minnesota into a sanctuary state.
As always, please communicate to me any thoughts, questions, or concerns you may have. Please never hesitate to reach out to me whether it’s via phone or email. I can be reached at 651-296-4293 or via email at rep.mike.wiener@house.mn.gov. It would be an honor to speak with you.
Until next time, have a great weekend,
Mike