If you do only one thing for gun rights this year, this is it!

The Stand Your Ground bill passed the Minnesota House last year. It overwhelmingly passed the Senate last week. Now the bill is headed to Governor Dayton.

If you do only one thing for gun rights this year, this is it!

The Stand Your Ground bill passed the Minnesota House last year. It overwhelmingly passed the Senate last week. Now the bill is headed to Governor Dayton.

Stand Your Ground bill passes Minnesota Senate

Your calls and emails made a difference. Tonight, the Minnesota Senate passed the Stand Your Ground bill with a vote of 40-23.

The bill will go to a conference committee on Monday, and should be back in front of the House and Senate soon. Following that, the next challenge . . . → Read More: Stand Your Ground bill passes Minnesota Senate]]>

You did it!

Stand Your Ground bill passes Minnesota Senate

Your calls and emails made a difference. Tonight, the Minnesota Senate passed the Stand Your Ground bill with a vote of 40-23.

The bill will go to a conference committee on Monday, and should be back in front of the House and Senate soon. Following that, the next challenge will be convincing Governor Dayton to sign the bill. We’ll have more on that soon.

Quick facts:

	Four DFLers lso voted for the bill. They are: Tom Saxhaug, Rod Skoe and David Tomassoni from northern Minnesota, and Dan Sparks from southern Minnesota.
	Every Republican in the Senate voted for the bill…
	…except for Senator Geoff Michel (R-Edina).

Stay tuned! 

The Stand Your Ground bill will be heard in the Minnesota Senate on Thursday.

This bill is vital for the protection it gives Minnesotans who are forced to defend themselves or their families outside their homes.

Please call . . . → Read More: Call your Senator – Stand Your Ground hits the Minnesota Senate Thursday]]>

Stand Your Ground to be heard in Minnesota Senate Thursday

Are you innocent until proven guilty? Call and email your senator today!

The Stand Your Ground bill will be heard in the Minnesota Senate on Thursday.

This bill is vital for the protection it gives Minnesotans who are forced to defend themselves or their families outside their homes.

Please call and email your senator below and urge them to vote YES on HF1467!*

If you’ve given us your address, the contact info for your senator is at the bottom of this email. If you haven’t, please click on the link, and we’ll look it up for you.

Here's some background on the bill:

HF1467/SF1357 Summary
HF1467/SF1357, the Defense of Dwelling and Person Act of 2011, brings “Stand Your Ground” protections to Minnesota, restores the presumption that a person using self defense is innocent until proven guilty, enhances Castle Doctrine, prevents the state from seizing guns during an emergency (remember Hurricane Katrina?), improves carry reciprocity with other states and requires the government to do its job to serve law-abiding citizens.

The full text of the bill can be found here: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bin/bldbill.php?bill=H1467.2.html&session=ls87

Here's some more detail about the bill:

Adds Stand Your Ground
HF1467 brings "Stand Your Ground" protections to Minnesota, removing the requirement that an intended victim of violent crime must retreat from a place where he has a right to be before using deadly force in self defense.

Enhances Castle Doctrine
The bill also strengthens Minnesota’s "Castle Doctrine," clarifying when and under what circumstances individuals can legally use deadly force to protect themselves in their homes and vehicles. In addition, it creates a presumption that, when faced with an apparent home invasion, carjacking or kidnapping attempt, a person may use deadly force in self defense.

Adds Universal Carry Permit Acceptance
Of particular interest to carry permit holders, the final article of the bill updates our carry permit reciprocity standards, allowing people holding carry permits from any other state to carry in Minnesota (under Minnesota law, of course). This should result in a large increase in the number of states where Minnesota permit holders can carry, since many states allow other states’ permit holders to carry on a reciprocal basis.

Prevents Gun Seizures During a State of Emergency
Taking a lesson from the problems in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, the bill also bans government agencies from seizing guns or ammo, revoking permits to purchase or carry, closing gun shops, or otherwise suspending our constitutional rights during a civil emergency — or at any other time. It also prohibits law enforcement officers from seizing a person’s gun, unless the person is arrested, or the gun is evidence of a crime.

Enhances Purchase Permit Rights
The bill also borrows a page from the Permit to Carry law, providing a more robust appeal process for denied purchase permits, and requiring that police chiefs and sheriffs whose purchase permit denials are overturned must pay the applicants' legal costs.

——–
*Yeah, we know, HF1467 is a house bill, but the Senate decided to go with that version as-is.

Did You Caucus?

Two quick items:

Precinct caucuses offer an incredible chance to influence the political process in our state. The very few people who show up set the course of the party for the year.

By showing up at . . . → Read More: Precinct Caucuses tonight: Show up for gun rights!]]>

Victory goes to those who show up

Precinct caucuses offer an incredible chance to influence the political process in our state. The very few people who show up set the course of the party for the year.

By showing up at the caucus, you can steer your political party toward gun rights!

Here’s all you have to do:

The Importance of being a Delegate

Delegates select who is running and what the issues are!  That’s why being a delegate is so important: all politics is local and most things in politics are decided by those who show up.

The Precinct caucus is the entry zone to affecting politics from the grass roots. All of the later conventions select from delegates elected at the previous level. This is your chance to get involved and have your opinions heard through interactions and support of candidates, as well as affecting the party platform with resolutions.

Precinct caucuses are open to any eligible voter. Eligible voters attending the caucus are asked to sign in and to be comfortable supporting the positions of the party.  At the most grass roots level, delegates are selected from the Basic Political Operating Unit (BPOU) — your local precinct. The process then continues in a pyramid fashion from the Precinct Caucus to the BPOU Convention, to the Congressional District Convention to the State Party Convention. At each level, delegates are chosen to pass on to the next. You cannot skip a step! You must be present to win! The only way to get inside and affect your party is to start at the Precinct Caucuses and work your way up.

Over the course of these caucuses and conventions, resolutions on the important issues of the day, and endorsements of candidates for elected office take place.  Resolutions continue on to the state convention and make their way into the party platform. Platforms offer a clear picture of the philosophical and policy goals of the party. The degree that candidates support or distance themselves from the platform provides insight into those candidates’ positions.

Endorsing candidates is far and away the most important activity of delegates. The endorsement provides candidates with the benefits of the party including access to volunteer lists, party organizations, and, of course, party money.  Endorsed candidates have access to party funds as well as state campaign finance money.  Many elections have been won or lost at an endorsing convention. In a horse race, those who pick the horses can determine who wins the race!

Remember: parties, political campaigns, and politics are run by people, and people listen to those they remember and recognize. Being able to say, “Hello, we met at the caucus“ is a much stronger opening than a cold call.

Resolution for an amendment to the Minnesota constitution:

WHEREAS self-defense, and defense of home, family and liberty is a fundamental human right; and

WHEREAS the Minnesota Constitution contains no provision guaranteeing this right; and

WHEREAS forty-three other state constitutions contain a guarantee of such rights;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Minnesota ____ Party support an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Minnesota to guarantee the right to keep and bear arms which states as follows:

The right of individuals to acquire, keep, possess, transport, carry, transfer, and use arms for defense of life, liberty, self, family, and others, sanctity of dwelling, and for all legitimate purposes, is fundamental and shall not be denied or curtailed. Any restriction must be subjected to strict scrutiny. Registration, mandatory licensing, special taxation, fees, or any other measure, regardless of type, manner, or purpose, that suppresses or discourages the free exercise of this right, is forbidden.

Get educated, show up, get involved, and make a difference. Thank you!