The great info graphic from NSSF shows the awesome economic impact of the shooting sports in America. Just another reason we should support open and free exercise of our 2nd Amendment rights!
![]() Minnesota had the benefit of being one of the later states to pass a shall issue law. Prior to 2003 Minnesotans could only receive a permit to carry a concealed weapon with the pernission of local law enforcement (which was rarely given). To make matters worse, there was no way to lawfully "open carry" a firearm. Minnesota's MCPPA law, passed in 2003 and amended in 2005, took into account lessons learned from other states such as Florida, Texas, and Arizona who had already passed shall issue laws. The authors of our law learned a number of things having watched other states, namely that citizens were being charged with crimes when their firearms were exposed accidentally. It got so bad that the Florida legislature had to change the wording of the law in 2011 to allow the unintentional exposure of a firearm. Minnesota law makers rightfully created a permit to carry, as opposed to a concealed carry law, thus allowing law abiding citizens to carry concealed or openly. It can be debated until the end of time which is the right and responsible choice; luckily it is a choice that we have! Many in the gun community will pile on the "newb" for calling it a "Conceal and Carry Permit," however we should be supportive of our fellow gun carrying neighbors. Just imagine if the next time you asked for a Kleenex your neighbor said, "do you mean a facial tissue!?" That is about how it sounds when someone mentions they have a CCW permit and the angry gun rights activist says, "we don't have those in Minnesota!" ![]() Since Newtown, many local Sheriffs have been on the front lines, fighting for your gun rights. Earlier this year, numerous sheriffs across the country announced they would not enforce any new gun laws that had to do with gun confiscation. Now, more sheriffs are taking it a step further, saying they will not enforce new gun control laws which have been enacted in several states in recent months. According to the New York Times, a Sheriff in Colorado is not only refusing to enforce these laws, but are actually taking active steps to see those laws repealed: When Sheriff John Cooke of Weld County explains in speeches why he is not enforcing the state’s new gun laws, he holds up two 30-round magazines. One, he says, he had before July 1, when the law banning the possession, sale or transfer of the large-capacity magazines went into effect. The other, he “maybe” obtained afterward.... Some sheriffs, like Sheriff Cooke, are refusing to enforce the laws, saying that they are too vague and violate Second Amendment rights. Many more say that enforcement will be “a very low priority,” as several sheriffs put it. All but seven of the 62 elected sheriffs in Colorado signed on in May to a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the statutes. We need to support our local Sheriffs that support us! There has been much talk lately about the Constitution and whether we need it or not. In fact a on CBS this Sunday morning a commentator commented, “I've got a simple idea: Let's give up on the Constitution.” Link
On this topic our educational system has failed us. I have recently had conversations with a number of very intelligent and well-educated people who do not understand the basics of our Constitution and what makes the US different from every other country. To get a basic understanding of why our country was created and why we are so much different, we must look back to our founding. In the Declaration Of Independence our founder wrote: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…” The difference that our founders are pointing out is that our rights are not from given by our government, they are endowed by our creator. Governments only power is to secure these rights. Next we need to understand why we have the Bill of Rights. “During the debates on the adoption of the Constitution, its opponents repeatedly charged that the Constitution as drafted would open the way to tyranny by the central government. Fresh in their minds was the memory of the British violation of civil rights before and during the Revolution. They demanded a "bill of rights" that would spell out the immunities of individual citizens. Several state conventions in their formal ratification of the Constitution asked for such amendments; others ratified the Constitution with the understanding that the amendments would be offered. On September 25, 1789, the First Congress of the United States therefore proposed to the state legislatures 12 amendments to the Constitution that met arguments most frequently advanced against it. The first two proposed amendments, which concerned the number of constituents for each Representative and the compensation of Congressmen, were not ratified. Articles 3 to 12, however, ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures, constitute the first 10 amendments of the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights.” 1 Tyranny is something of a taboo subject in our modern lexicon. Tyranny is, arbitrary or unrestrained exercise of power by government. So what happens when we start ignoring the principals put in place to protect us from tyranny? You get what we have now, a government that demands more control over more area’s of life. Do not mistake this for a political statement; all modern politicians have contributed to this breaking down of our constitutional protections. No Democrat or Republican is free from blame. Over the coming weeks I will take some of the major protections from the Bill of Rights and see how they have been degraded. |