Where Things Stand

Joel Rosenberg remains the best place to get information about the goings-on in the Legislature re the voting on the Personal Protection act.

And there's a lot of information to get, these days.

The bill will be going to the floor soon, very possibly next week; it'll get through committee. It'll probably be larded down with killer amendments; Citizens for a Supine "Safer" Minnesota is hailing a bunch of poison-pill amendments that various committees added on.

Don't let it faze you. These committees, controlled by the Metrocrats (especially Wes "Lying Sack of Filth" Skogland), are the fantasy-based left's last hope against this bill.

But there are enough votes on the floor of the Senate to not only pass the bill, but to remove any silly, pointless amendments. We need 34 to pass the bill - it had 37 votes in 2003; Joel Rosenberg thinks we might have 40 this time, maybe more. Oddly, the DFL (outside the metrocrats) may have a stronger interest in passing the bill than the GOP; the issue is a proven vote-getter for Republicans, and a known loser for the DFL, which lost a few vital outstate seats over concealed carry in 2000 and 2002.

The more the merrier. We want to win this...

...No. Strike that. We want to body-slam this issue so hard that even a pinhead like Wes Skoglund - lost in a fantasy world where lawful concealed carry permit holders will stalk the streets, peeping in his windows and firing randomly into houses - gets the picture.

With that in mind, Rosenberg has compiled the "Magnificent Seven" - the seven outstate DFLers that are on the fence or leaning very slightly one way or the other:

* 20 DFL Kubly, Gary W. (651) 296-5094 ; in the plus column. He's sent at least one solid, friendly, well-reasoned email to a reform supporter who sent him a very polite, firm, and well-reasoned email. (Consider this more than a hint.)

*8 DFL Lourey, Becky (651) 296-0293 ; in the leaning plus column. She voted against the law in 2003, but has seen that the sky didn't fall. Please make that point to her -- she should be much more comfortable with it, and so should her district.

*45 DFL Rest, Ann H. (651) 296-2889 ; keeping her cards close to her vest, but I think she'll vote for it, as long as there's some language that lets churches ban carry with whatever language they want. Is her vote worth that? I'd say yes, but I won't second-guess Pat Pariseau.

*46 DFL Scheid, Linda 651.296.8869 ; on the bubble -- please target her with friendly, firm, polite, calm, reasoned phone calls. Be nice, but be clear: when we're talking about the MCPPA, we're talking about SF 2259 with the upcoming Pariseau amendments, and no others.

*13 DFL Johnson, Dean E. (651) 296-3826 ; he'll vote for it.

*2 DFL Skoe, Rod (651) 296-4196 ; he's in. Send a thankyou, and make it clear that you understand that being in support of the PPA means being in support of the Pariseau amendments on the floor, and voting against the barrage of other amendments intended to weaken the law

*1 DFL Stumpf, LeRoy A. 651.296.8660 ; he's in. Same as with Skoe.

Please give these Senators a call. Be polite. Tell them you support the MPPA (SF2259), and that you'd appreciate them voting not only to pass the bill, but to strip out all but Pat Pariseau's amendments.

I called them all already.

We can have this done by next week, and erase Minnesota's patriarchal, racist 1974 carry permit law for good.

Posted by Mitch at May 5, 2005 06:36 AM | TrackBack