According to Firearm Chronicles
A legislative battle in Minnesota is heating up, with Democrats in control of the state pushing for a “red flag” firearm seizure bill as well as universal background checks. Republicans, who are in charge of the state Senate, countered that push on Monday by unveiling a series of proposals of their own to crack down on violent crime.
Unlike the measures pushed by Democrats, the bills introduced by Republicans don’t focus on legal gun owners in the state, but instead focus on actual violent offenders.
At a news conference ahead of the first hearings on their proposals, members of the Senate GOP majority said their bills can actually pass both chambers. They said that contrasts with two priorities of the House Democratic majority — universal background checks and a “red flag” law — which gun rights groups oppose and Senate Republicans have refused to hear. “We have a reality that we have to deal with. We have a divided government,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Warren Limmer said. ”… Any extreme gun bill is going to be very difficult to pass in the other chamber.” Senate Democrats were quick to dismiss the GOP proposals as window-dressing that might win bipartisan support but won’t save many lives.
That’s an odd criticism for Democrats to make, since there’s no evidence whatsoever that universal background checks actually reduce crime, or even lead to more background checks. We’ve also pointed out here at Bearing Arms that the states that have had red flag laws on the books for the longest period of time have seen their suicide rates increase, even with the law in place.
Besides, the proposals offered up by Senate Republicans appear to actually address some real issues in the criminal justice system.