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May 17, 2005

Desperate Measures

Someone - we don't know who - used the mass-email form on the Concealed Carry Reform Now website to send a threatening email to members of the Minnesota House of Representatives.

On the eve of a crucial vote to reinstate a law allowing more people to carry guns in public, House members received e-mails threatening harassment and blackmail if they voted against the bill Wednesday.

"We will send people to your homes to harass you, and look in your windows,'' said the message sent Tuesday. "If that does not work, we have information on you, and your family, and we will use it in any way shape or form to get our bill passed.''

Although the e-mail was sent to all 134 House members, the message seemed aimed at the 55 DFLers who have either voted against the bill in the past or are new to the House and don't have a record on the issue.

You never know.

I'd say the odds are much better than even that it was an opponent of the bill, trying to discredit other bill supporters.

That's an opportunity the antis can't pass up:

Democratic Rep. Nora Slawik of Maplewood said she and several other Democrats identified on a "harassment list'' in the e-mail pressed to postpone the vote while the investigation was underway.

"If it has to be delayed until next year, so be it,'' said Slawik, who added that she's been deluged with e-mails from supporters of the gun legislation. "It puts a cloud over the bill. There's enough tension around the bill without having this layer of concern added.''

Sorry, Norah. The only real tension around the bill is in the minds of metro DFLers who realize that the re-passage is a slap in their agenda's face.

As Joel Rosenberg - in whose name the fraudulent emails were sent - noted on his blog, the authorities are involved:

The FBI was also investigating and discussing the matter with U.S. Attorney Tom Heffelfinger's office, bureau spokesman Paul McCabe said.
I hope they find whomever it was, and toss him in the same cell as the moron who shot the bouncer.
Joe Olson, president of Concealed Carry Reform Now, the group that fought hardest for passage of the 2003 gun laws, also denied any involvement in the message. Olson said the group plans to sue whoever was behind the e-mails because he said his group's reputation was smeared.

"I'll bet you $10 it's an anti-gun person behind this,'' he said. "None of our people are this stupid.''

I believe Olson is correct. And I won't quite take the bet, not without a spread; this issue is intensely emotional for a lot of people on the pro side as well as the obvious emotion of the antis (which makes up their only case). Not everybody deals with that sort of thing perfectly. While the vast majority of concealed carry supporters are rational, smarter-than-average and as responsible as the day is long, CCRN also has 20,000-odd supporters; it'd be beggaring the law of averages if there weren't someone out there who might get a tad overwrought.

But like I said, I'm not taking the bet, either.

Posted by Mitch at May 17, 2005 07:50 PM | TrackBack
Comments

I think this will pan out to be just like the racist/hate crimes hoaxes that we've seen in the recent past. I would bet big money (if I had any that is!)that it's someone anti-gun.

Posted by: Colleen at May 17, 2005 08:45 PM

The letter's pathetic no matter who's writing it. If it's lefties, for shame, and if it's righties, for shame.

I just hope we find out who, because if it's your side, Mitch, I'm gonna take a few shots, and if it's my side (not on this issue, but in general), I'm going to take a lot more....

Posted by: Jeff Fecke at May 17, 2005 10:07 PM

The only people who care about concealed carry on the pro side, are by definition people who want to obey the law. I don't believe this email is from any supporter. People who don't care about obeying the fraud and harassment laws, don't care about concealed carry laws either, unless they're trying to torpedo them.

Posted by: RBMN at May 17, 2005 10:14 PM

I'm not surprised that some idiot has sent the mail, but I am also not surprised that the first instinct of the conservative voices I see is to immediately blame a lefty. I don't think "you people" recognize just how creepy and violent the fringe is on your side.

I've seen it first hand on several occasions: for about a year I drove around with a Wellstone sticker and every night I'd pick up 2 or 3 aggressive tailgators who'd often stay with me for several miles. When I finally took it off that activity dropped way off. It also happened to a lesser extent with my whats-his-name oh right that guy for president sticker and it didn't drop off until after the election.

Sorry guys, but you got some real whack jobs out there. Why don't you try to meet them if you don't believe me by covering up that NRA sticker (no, not that one I mean the other one...alright, both of them) with something from Greenpeace?

As for the email, I rather doubt the sender really cared about the issue either way, but was just some troublemaker looking for cheap thrills.

Oh, and for the record I'm neutral on CCW. My god is statistics. And no, I don't want to take your guns but hey how about keeping it somewhere a burgler can't get to it, huh?

Posted by: Bill Haverberg at May 18, 2005 12:26 AM

Bill: Wackoes are indeed universal. And I will wait to see what the investigation turns out (and there's a semi-intrigueing hint on Rosenberg's blog that we may see some results sooner than later).

But some of the wording of the thing make me think that the "sabotage" theory is more rather than less likely.

MOre later.

Posted by: mitch at May 18, 2005 05:49 AM

Thanks for giving this your attention, Mitch. I don't think I'd enjoy being involved in naked, crude -- or, for that matter, well-hidden and clever -- political dirty tricks at all, even as a willing participant. Can't say for sure, of course; I've never tried it, and haven't been tempted.

But I can say from the past 24 hours' experience, that being involved -- as the victim -- in a naked, crude, and pretty damnably evil political dirty trick is no fun at all.

As to who did it, I'm not going to speculate, other than to say that I'm confident -- based on publicly available information -- it wasn't exactly a friend of mine, or of carry reform.

Once -- and the sooner the better -- that the person or persons who did this are identified and arrested, though, I might have a word or two to say on the matter, and will work very, very hard to keep those words printable.

Posted by: Joel Rosenberg at May 18, 2005 07:05 AM

Bill H - I do sympathize with you on the whack jobs out there. I eventually had to take my Bush sticker off ny motorcycle back fender, for the same reason. It's a lot more scary getting closely and hostilely tailgated while on a bike, too.

Posted by: bobby b at May 18, 2005 02:21 PM
hi