here is what Joel posted at TC carry in his live journal.
Gun registration in Minnesota?
I knew that this Minnesota legislative session was going to be ugly, but, sheesh . . . Paymar, in the House, has a whole slew of awful bills. But the worst is, well, dreadful.
California-style gun registration is coming to Minnesota, unless you stop it.
It's HF 3324. The companion bill -- same language -- in the Senate is SF 2989. Buried in jibber-jabber about "assault style weapons" and the usual gun grabber gibberish, this is nothing more or less than a permanent gun registration scheme for the state of Minnesota. If this bill becomes law, every time a handgun or supposedly scary rifle is transferred -- even between two private parties -- the state would keep a list of who bought it, and who sold it, and when.
Got an old revolver that your buddy has an eye on? No, you couldn't just ask to see his carry permit or purchase permit and hand it over -- or even loan it to him for a couple of weeks.
Nope; the two of you would have to go down to a gun shop -- if your local gun shop hasn't been zoned out of business you might not have that much of a drive -- hand it over the the clerk,, have him book it in, and pay the clerk to run a background check on your friend. Your friend who, by the way, already has either a carry permit or a purchase permit, and who already has gone through a criminal background check that can be repeated -- under current law -- by the authorities any time that they please.
And it gets worse. If there's a glitch in the NICS system, and your friend doesn't get immediately approved, the clerk can't just give your own gun back to you; he's got to run a background check on you -- which, of course, you have to pay for -- before he can.
And the state gets to keep records of that transaction forever. Forever.
Who is behind this gun registration scheme won't surprise anybody who has been following these issues. As you'd expect, it's Heather Martens (picture from 2005 at right), the head of the tiny but well-funded astroturf "Citizens for a 'Safer' Minnesota" -- the folks who told us that the 2003 carry reform law would cause the sky to fall -- who has been, err, pumping this bill at the Capitol.
Gun registration for law-abiding citizens, not criminals. As usual.
Like all the others, this silly "gun control" bill wouldn't do a damn thing about stopping criminals from getting guns; they don't submit to background checks at all. When was the last time you heard of a gangbanger going down to city hall to apply for a purchase permit, or to his sheriff's office to put in his paperwork for a carry permit? Ever have a wait getting to the clerk because there's a long line of Crips or Bloods or Bogus Boyz ahead of you?
Me, neither.
What to do.
I was starting to type "let's kill this dog of a bill", but that's unfair to man's best friend; I like dogs.
If you want gun registration in Minnesota, here's what you can do: sit on your hands. If you don't much care, either way, that'll work, too.
Me, I want to stomp on this cockroach of a bill before it breeds. Takes a lot of feet stomping to kill cockroaches, though.
Here's how you can stomp on it. You don't have to go up to the Capitol and spend a day lobbying against it, although that would be great, if you want to. All you've got to do is write a few letters and emails, and make a few phone calls.
First, call, write and email your state Senator and Representative and tell them -- politely, please, but firmly -- that you strongly oppose HF3324 and SF2989, the statewide gun registration bills, and ask them to oppose this "expensive gun registration scheme." Don't accept a weaselly answer -- politely but firmly demand that they let you know their position on it. If they haven't looked into it yet, that's fine; get back to them in a week and follow up. Never yell or threaten; never accept less than a straight answer.
If you don't know who they are, it's about time to learn that; you'll find that out right here. Don't fail to call, write, and email if you know that they're on the other side, or if you know that they're on our side. Our friends (both Republican and DFLers) need to hear from us; our, err, non-friends do, too.
Second, do the same thing with every member of the Senate Judiciary committee -- which will be hearing SF2989 -- and the House Public Safety and Civil Justice committee, which is where HF 3324 has gone. You'll find the House committee here, and the Senate committee here.
You don't have to write a long letter, and it's perfectly okay to call their offices during off hours and leave a short voice message. Just give your name and phone number -- that's so they know that it's not just a couple of people calling over and over again -- mention that you're one of their constituents, if you are, and say something like, "I'm calling to ask you to oppose SF 2989 and HF 3324. Law-abiding Minnesota citizens deserve better than an expensive, California-style gun registration scheme. Please let me know where you stand on this issue."
And then -- after you've done it -- please point your friends here and ask them to do the same.
We all can -- and I hope will -- stop this gun registration scheme in its tracks, if we all do our part.
Me, I've got some letters and emails to write and some more phone calls to make. You?
ETA: here's a bunch of useful email addresses, all in one place:
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[email protected],
[email protected],
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[email protected],
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