MN Carry Law Ruled Unconstitutional

[RealGun]

While the article may be technically accurate it was misleading and is not the whole story. By the same token, posts on this thread are not in complete context.

If what you are saying is true, it seems to me that such a ruling would establish a precedent that would strike down all laws passed by amendment..any amendment by definition not precisely the same subject as the original bill. I would expect that the legislature would have something to say about that. I had assumed that the test was whether the amendment was germane to the bill and that some reasonable judgment had been applied.

 

[jdege]

The Minnesota Supreme Court has established specific guidelines to avoid a challenge on the single subject rule

1st, there must be a common filament among the provisions of the bill.

2nd, all of the provisions of the bill must be included in the title.

3rd, all of the provisions of the bill must be debated.

The purpose of the single subject rule, according to the Court, is to prevent provisions from being added in committee and then passed without notice or debate.

The MCPPA was the single most-debated bill in the history of the Minnesota legislature.

In the case of the MCPPA, a provision regarding the training for, the issuance of, and the recognition of other states' carry permits was added to a bill that dealt with provisions regarding the training for, the issuance of, and the recognition of other states' boating licenses, ATV licenses, personal watercraft licenses, and hunter safety certificates.

The question of whether the amendment was germane was raised on the floor of the House, and the majority of the House determined that it was germane.

In the only case in which the Minnesota Supreme Court has overturned a provision because of the single subject rule, the provision was added in committee, was not added to the title, and was never debated on the floor.

The challengers could honestly argue that they had no idea that the provision was in the bill when they voted for it.

If the MCPPA violates the single subject rule, every omnibus spending bill passed in the last ten years violates the single subject rule.

 

[goalie]

I had assumed that the test was whether the amendment was germane to the bill and that some reasonable judgment had been applied.

As stated above, the legal precident is that the restriction is to stop the legislature from passing a law with something totally irrelevant buiried in it that is not known about by the other legislators and is not debated.

I watched the passage of the MPPA. Considering the length of the senate's debate and the amount of TV coverage the whole thing got, it is quite difficult to argue that this legislation was snuck into law without anyone knowing about it.

As for upholding this decision, I say bring it on. The legal chaos that would result from this ruling being upheld at the MSC level is staggering. Legislators have been very careful to avoid even talking about the subject of criminal law that was passed in "non germane" bills, and if violent criminals are released because of some twisted desire to restrict my rights, well, there will be some serious political consequences here in Minnesota for the DFL party.

 

[jfh]

has anyone got a list, or have a sense of some bills that were passed we can start talking about on the forums?

This thing still flummoxes me, to be honest--I can't believe the judge was THAT dumb to open this can of worms. That's why I want to keep putting on my tinfoil hat and see a conspiracy that will help this network to screw us.

So, it's time for the brawl, like Goalie suggests.

Or, is this a diversion from a more-germane / stronger legal issue of the property rights side of the argument?

 

[Lobotomy Boy]

The thing that torques me the most is that the newspapers, radio, and television reports keep repeating that the amendment was attached to "an unrelated hunting and fishing bill." This is a blatant lie, yet the blathering idiots keep repeating it as if it was truth. I've even seen pro 2A people who don't know the details say the same thing.