Legislative Update - Rep. Tom Murphy

Red Flag Law that was not Ready

On January 1st the Democrat’s Red Flag law went into effect with some of the documents necessary to restore a Minnesotan’s right to a firearm after being reported were not even ready for the law. Republican Leader Lisa Demuth released this statement chiding this careless rollout of this law. You can view the original statement here.

This law is an affront to due process and does nothing to address the alleged safety risk – the individual. Every American is entitled to due process, as guaranteed by the Constitution. This new Extreme Risk Protection Order was just one aspect of the Democrats' radical gun control agenda that they hurriedly passed in the last session. They also enacted Universal Background Checks, which will create strict and impractical obstacles for law-abiding Minnesotans who are attempting to exercise their Second Amendment rights.

Finally an SRO Fix?

Governor Walz has been touting his work on getting a proposal to fix the terrible School Resource Office (SRO) law fixed from last session. With several districts removing their SROs this school year because of the law and contradicting interpretations from the Hennepin County Attorney and Attorney General, this needs to be a top priority when we return to the Capitol on February 12th. The Governor has already stated his desire to get this done early in session. I believe a truly bipartisan solution to this statute will be needed to ensure that school districts across the state have their concerns heard as we get our recourse officers back in schools to continue their important work.

Rep. Murphy Joins Fellow Otter Tail Co. Delegation for EMS Task Force Hearing

Last week I joined fellow Otter Tail County officials Rep. Jeff Backer and Sen. Jordan Rasmusson, as well as the members of the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Task Force for a field hearing in Elbow Lake. This hearing was dedicated to hearing directly from constituents in Northwest Minnesota on the challenges they face in accessing EMS assistance and what support these providers may need to better serve their communities. Speakers at the hearing included stakeholders in providing EMS support, local elected officials, as well as members of the public who shared their stories of the struggles they have faced in response times in more rural areas and lack of funding.

I’m glad this task force scheduled this field hearing to be able to experience the challenges we face in the Otter Tail area and I appreciate their attentiveness to the important voices in our community that took the time to speak on these challenges. These are important issues for our rural communities and at times can be the difference between life and death. I hope this upcoming session we will be able to bring forward some meaningful solutions to keep these critical services available for everyone across the state of Minnesota.

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313 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, MN 55155
651.296.6756