I couldn’t make it to the hearings today down at the Senate Office Building –
but the guys at the MN Gun Owners Caucus have been sending pictures.
And the story they tell is heartening.
The good guys outnumber the Dreamsicles pretty heavily; the MN Gun Owners Caucus has adopted a black T-shirt design, and brought a ton of them to the event.
See for yourself:
There’s a story behind the picture: as always with these sorts of situations, you have to remember that the shooters are almost invariably working people who have to take time off from jobs and families to spend their day waiting in line and watching hearings. The Dreamsicles are overwhelmingly people who do advocacy for a vocation or an avocation; “progressive” clergy, non-profiteers, community groupers, seniors, and lots and people with no real work conflicts.
The level of effort required for the good guys to outnumber the orcs is incredible. And year in, year out, we do it.
And the media are starting to notice, and account for it in their coverage. There’s a way to go, of course, but it’s a start.
OF course, the point is the actual hearings. Rob Doar – the VP and Political Director of the MNGOC – led off the testimony for the good guys.
He shredded a load of fabricated figures the orcs had just put out. They never, ever learn.
News so far: “Universal Background Checks” failed 9-7 on a partly line vote. More to come.
We’re not out of the woods. Indeed, it could be said the latest round of this fight has just begun – because these hearings were launched by the DFL, via an abuse of House rules, to give them some campaign pictures for the fall’s election.
So stay hard, stay hungry and stay alive, Real Americans. One more verse, same as the first.
UPDATE: “Gun Violence Protective Orders” – the DFL’s version, issued by decree with no due process – failed 10-6. Rep. Marion O’Neill just shredded DFL Rep. Dave Pinto; I can’t wait for the video.
Unfortunately, Rep Pinto is my rep. When I objected to the suddenness of the hearings seemed to be designed to prevent public input, he never ‘fessed up that he was the reason for the sudden hearing, but blamed the Republican leadership for stalling the bills.
Pinto is just another Hahvud educated liberal weasel!
Hmmmmmm….. aside from all the usual questions about constitutionality, effectiveness, sound policy and fairness, I have one more question.
Who pays?
So if Avery LIBRELLE’s dream comes true and he gets an ex-parte order compelling Mitch to store his firearms with a licensed dealer or the Saint Paul Police….
Who pays for the storage?
Allow me to suggest that the Dreamsickles should be happy to pay – but that is not how they work. They demand the perceived benefits of government but without the inconvenience or expense.
Inconvenience and expense are for little people.
If I’m a GOP candidate for either Pinto’s or Slocum’s seats, I print up big flyers about how many constitutional amendments they attempted to trash and pepper their districts with them every week. Maybe a third of the people that read them will vote against them next election. But, perhaps I dream too much, because due to the number of Hispanics and Somalis now living in Ritchfield, Slocum would still be safe.
Heck, Dave Pinto lives down my street. I told him I knew he was going to vote for DFL gun grabbing bills, but I asked him not to become Michael Paymar. Well, he’s now Paymar.
The comment below is put in more to tell a small anecdote about guns, Republicans, and permit-to-carry. It may not be that pertinent to this topic but kind of fits.
Disclaimers: I don’t own a handgun. I don’t have a permit to carry. I nevertheless am a 2nd amendment supporter.
At a local GOP meeting last night Hennepin County Sheriff Stanek dropped by to speak to us. He’s a great guy. He said on his way into the fine establishment we were meeting in, two guys stopped him and asked the good Sheriff to sign ther permits to carry. Sheriff Stanek says it happens to him all the time and he is happy to accomodate. There were a couple dozen of us in the room (multi-race, multi-gender, etc.). One attendee asked if the Sheriff would sign his permit. The Sheriff admitted he had left the permanent marker upstairs and was unable to help again. One good Boy Scout happened to have a permanent marker in his bag and brought it out. Sheriff Stanek took the marker and the card and began to sign. Suddenly about a half dozen more cards came out and the Sheriff said an expletive of surprise but in a good way. He spent about 5 minutes signing cards. He’s a great guy. He left the room to strong applause and many thank-you’s.
I doubt if he’d of had a similar reception at a DFL meeting. I feared no mass shooting in that establishment and will also feel more secure in future GOP meetings.
Video replay available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oc9p30M7PU4
Pass, you forgot to mention feeling more secure on the streets as well.