Reciprocal conceal and carry will allow more guns

To the editor:

This month, the House of Representatives passed HR 38, the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act. The companion bill in the Senate is S 446. This bill would force Minnesota to allow anyone who has a conceal carry permit from another state to carry in Minnesota – regardless of the requirements, or lack thereof, from the home state. For example, consider the laws in Georgia. That state recommends, but does not require safety training and exempts license holders from NICS background checks when buying a gun for the five-year duration of the license. Currently, a total of 19 states do not allow Georgia conceal carry license holders to carry in their state – including Minnesota.

House leadership disingenuously combined the reciprocity provision with one that attempts to improve the NICS background check system by requiring the military to report domestic abusers to the database. The two provisions could not be more different in their intent. Erik Paulsen has voted aye on HR 38 and defends his vote on the basis that the background check database will be improved. The improvement of the background check database as a result of this bill is like sticking your finger in a dike while the dam is breached. It is necessary, but not sufficient. Allowing online and gun show sales to avoid the background check process remains. The real effect of the bill is to take away Minnesota’s ability to prevent more guns, in this case handguns, from entering the state and rendering useless its own conceal and carry requirements.

I would urge readers to tell Erik Paulsen he is wrong and to ask Minnesota’s senators that the two provisions of the bill should at least be separated for further debate in the Senate. On this five-year anniversary of the Sandy Hook Massacre, it’s time to start using common sense about gun violence.

Fred Beier, Edina
Edina Sun-Current, December 24, 2017