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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Walter Hudson (R)

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Legislative update

Friday, March 15, 2024

Dear Neighbor,

The Democrats’ barrage of attacks on the Second Amendment has continued this week, with hearings on two more strikes against our time-honored and cherished right to bear arms.

Meanwhile, House Democrats also blocked an effort by House Republicans yesterday to declare urgency on a bill (H.F. 548) which stiffens penalties for transferring a firearm to an ineligible person, aka, “straw man” purchases. Our move coincided with recent news an indictment has 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, the House majority voted down our effort to declare urgency on this bill.

And now – stay with me here – reports indicate police in Canada are advising people to leave their car keys at the front door of their home to make it easier for thieves to avoid confrontation when stealing your car. That recommendation would be laughable if it weren’t so seriously unserious … and if it didn’t seem like only a matter of time before the extremists across the aisle try to employ such a practice here in Minnesota.

When you consider these latest developments in context, they go hand in hand with today’s Leftist mindset:

  • Democrats don’t want you to shoot the bad guys.
  • Democrats don’t want to punish the bad guys for shooting you.
  • And Democrats don’t care if the bad guys steal your property.

Last year Democrats enacted universal background checks and red flag confiscation orders. Then came this year’s H.F. 601 (criminalizing victims of gun theft) and H.F. 4300 (unreasonable firearm storage mandate) and both could come to the House floor for a vote on passage any day now. This week, two more anti-Second Amendment bills received committee hearings in the House. They include:

H.F. 2828, allows local governments to prohibit or restrict a person from carrying a firearm on government-owned property.

H.F. 3672, transfers firearm regulations away from the state to local governing bodies, allowing municipalities and counties to regulate the use and possession of firearms. This would result in a patchwork of firearm laws across our state and lead to potentially unconstitutional proposals by governing bodies.

Again, Democrats don’t want you to shoot the bad guys, don’t want to punish the bad guys for shooting you, and don’t care if the bad guys steal your property.

Assisted suicide

Democrats this week conducted a hearing for their assisted-suicide bill as they rekindled their fascination with creating new ways to end life after letting this proposal sit on the back burner last month. As I have noted, assisted suicide is a scheme which we know has resulted in the abuse and disposal of vulnerable people wherever it has become law.

For example, Canada’s assisted suicide has changed considerably since it was first introduced in 2016. Canadians no longer need death to be “reasonably foreseeable” and there is discussion to expand Canadian assisted suicide policy to individuals with mental illness as a sole condition by which an individual can qualify for assisted suicide.

While the Minnesota bill restricts assisted suicide to individuals 18 or older, the Legislature has a long history of expanding a minor’s right to consent to healthcare. There also is no residency requirement for the patient, meaning Minnesota will only grow as a destination to end life.

This ghoulish bill is so concerning that even a Senate Democrat said, “The risk lies not in undervaluing personal autonomy for the few who currently want assisted suicide, but in normalizing attitudes that prioritize convenience over compassion.”

School safety

I mentioned in my last newsletter the Minnesota House had approved a bill to resolve last year’s change in law which caused school resource officers to be removed from schools throughout the state. After hitting a snag in the Senate on Monday, the bill came back to the House for a vote on final passage and was approved 119-9. If it needs to be said, the “9” are all Democrats. The Senate approved this bill as well and the governor has since enacted it, which is good news.

Have a good weekend and please stay in touch.

Sincerely,

Walter