Jun 26, 2008 5:50 pm US/Central
Gun Ruling Unlikely To Change Minn. Gun Laws
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) ―
It's doubtful Minnesotans will see much change as a result of Thursday's Supreme Court ruling that individuals can own guns.
Minnesota's biggest gun debate in recent years was over the 2005 law changing who can carry a concealed weapon. The Supreme Court ruling appears to leave such regulations intact, and Minnesota does not have a handgun ban like the one struck down on Thursday.
"I don't know of any gun control legislation in Minnesota that would run afoul of this decision," said Dale Carpenter, a law professor at the University of Minnesota.
He said gun control efforts have gotten little traction in a state with a Republican governor and (until the 2006 elections) a Republican state House. But he pointed out that many of Minnesota's Democrats oppose gun control, too.
"A number of those Democrats are from areas where there are a lot of sportsmen and others who own guns and want to own guns and don't want the state interfering," he said. "I just think this is unfriendly territory for gun control advocates in general."
Gun shop owner John Monson knew his business could be on the line, depending on which way the Supreme Court ruled. On Thursday morning he was checking online news sites at Bill's Gun Shop in Circle Pines while his wife monitored the TV news at home for first word of a ruling.
"It's a great day to be a gun shop owner," he said. "It solidifies the right of an individual to possess or to own and bear firearms. It's not as global as some people may think. There will still be gun laws," he said.
Indeed, the ruling appeared to leave room for the kinds of restrictions like the ones pressed by Citizens for a Safer Minnesota, which has pushed for requiring background checks for sales at gun shows. Its president, Heather Martens, said she saw something positive for her side in Thursday's decision:
"It sweeps away the gun lobby's main argument for inaction, which is that any measure is just one step toward gun confiscation, or a total gun ban," she said. "Well, a total gun ban can't happen. That will make things a little clearer and easier when we're talking to people about common-sense measures to protect people from gun violence," she said.
Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson was one of about 30 attorneys general who filed an amicus brief in the case decided Thursday supporting an individual's right to bear arms under the Second Amendment.
"Minnesotans have an independent streak and value the right to privacy and to be let alone in their own home. We are also a state with a strong hunting and outdoors heritage. This ruling is consistent with those rights," she said in a written statement.
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