Caledonia Argus

Gun bill sponsor pulls bill out of committee

Posted: 3/25/03

by T.W. Budig
ECM capitol reporter

The Senate Crime Prevention and Public Safety Committee was expected to vote on so-called concealed carry legislation on Monday.

But Sen. Pat Pariseauís gun permit legislation will not number among the bills.

On Thursday (March 20) Pariseau, R-Farmington, on the Senate floor pulled her bill (SF 222) out of committee.

ìThey obviously will not take a vote,î said Pariseau. ìWhy would I play this silly game,î she said.

Other options for her legislation exists, said Pariseau.

The committee on Wednesday, March 19, refused to take a vote on Pariseauís bill though a Republican lawmaker motioned for one.

The committee completed two hearings on the bill, listening to both supporters and opponents of the legislation which would change Minnesota into a ìshall issueî gun permit state.

Pariseau has been critical of the committee all week.

On Monday, March 17, she charged that Senate DFLers were playing games, being uncommunicative and introducing last minute gun permit bills of their own.

At the close of Wednesdayís committee hearing Pariseau again spoke of gamesmanship.

ìTheyíre trying to get up past the (bill) deadline. Itís a game Iíve understood for a long time,î said Pariseau.

Committee chairman Leo Foley, DFL-Coon Rapids, denied games were being played.

ìItís not a game, I can assure you,î said Foley, speaking earlier in the week.

A number of people testified for and against Pariseauís bill.

Tom Goodwin, of the Apple Valley City Council, warned that city halls and county courthouses could become ìfree-fire zonesî if obtaining gun permits were made easier.

Place an apartment building behind someoneís home, Goodwin told the committee. See if they donít get angry, he said.

Goodwin added that the Apple Valley City Council is divided on the concealed carry issue before the Legislature.

Rick Campion, of former police officer in the City of St. Francis, said many police officers he knows support changing the current gun law.

Having more people carrying guns is not necessarily riskier for law enforcement, Campion explained.

Police officers are trained to assume the people they stop may be armed, he said. If theyíre cautious now, theyíll remain cautious later, he explained.

Besides, police officers realize they canít quickly respond to all calls. ìIn many life threatening situations waiting for the police isnít an option,î he said.

But Bill Gillespie, of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, disputed Campionís claim that many cops support concealed carry.

Thatís not true among the 7,000 members of the association, he explained.

Some witnesses before the committee argued that Minnesota doesnít need to change its gun law because people who want to obtain gun permits in general get them.

A study of gun permit data collected in 2002 by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension ó 317 of 493 law enforcement agencies surveyed responding ó showed that 13,709 Minnesotans applied for gun permits and 12,780 were granted.

Some 904 applicants were denied; 25 cases were still pending.

All told, there were 11,381 permit holders in Minnesota as of the end of 2002.

Within the seven county metro area in 2002, some 1,746 people applied for gun permits and 1,453 permits were granted.

Some 276 applicants were turned down with 17 cases still pending.

In Greater Minnesota, 11,963 people applied for permits and 11,327 permits were granted.

Some 628 permits were denied; 8 cases were pending.

Four gun permit holders had their permit withheld in 2002 for breaking the law ó DWI, impaired driving, fifth degree assault, and speeding.

Foley, though saying it would be hard to quantify, wondered if any crime actually had been prevented or life spared by the licensed gun permit holders in Minnesota.

The crime prevention committee is expected to hear two gun permit bills sponsored by Senate DFLers.

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