Week of March 12th – 16th
Students and Legislators Continue to Take on Gun Violence
On Monday, a bipartisan bill was introduced that would require universal background checks for all gun sales. I was incredibly grateful to everyone who worked so hard on this compromise, and am hopeful that we are finally breaking through. I am proud to fully support this bipartisan legislation. For far too long, we have not enacted commonsense legislation, such as this, that has the power to save lives.
In Governor Dayton’s final State of the State address, he endorsed this bill and called on state legislators to listen to students who are asking for tighter restrictions on gun control.
Keeping up that momentum, on Wednesday students across the nation staged a massive walkout to remember those slain in Parkland, Florida and to protest legislative inaction on gun violence prevention. I am proud of our students for standing up for what they believe in and demanding action. We as a state and a nation, need to listen to what they have to say. You can hear more of my thoughts on the matter by clicking HERE.
Doing Right by Our Veterans and Their Families
In the Veterans Committee on Thursday, we discussed a series of bills, aimed at improving benefits and services for our state’s veterans.
The first bill we heard would extend a tax benefit aimed at allowing veterans with disabilities and their spouses to stay in their homes. This is a good bill and I am proud to support it.
Another piece of legislation would allocate money to eight Centers for Independent Living across the state, which work to keep people in their communities. This bill is essential to ensure that our former service members have staff trained specifically in veterans’ care.
I greatly appreciate all of the work that has gone into these bills, and am hopeful that we can get them signed into law.
On Tuesday I was visited by Joel Glaser from the Association of Minnesota Public Educational Radio Stations to hear about their Veterans’ Voices project. It was a great meeting at the intersection of two of my passions: Education and Veterans Services.
Thursday was an incredible day. I had five separate meetings throughout the day with student, parents, and educators from my three local school districts.
Eden Prairie teachers Jon Pogatchnik, Kelsey Snyder, and Sheila Fitzgerland brought their classes to the capitol this week. I got the opportunity to speak to them was astounded by their passion to learn about their State government.
Rep. Laurie Pryor joined up with us as well when we met in the rotunda.
Minnetonka High School’s debate class visited as well, and we got to talk about some of the issues they have taken on this year.
Some adults from Minnetonka Community Action for Student Education (CASE) also came to visit on Thursday. It was great to catch up with them and discuss their priorities.
Parents, Students, and Educators from Hopkins Public Schools’ Legislative Action Coalition also came in to discuss their priorities. We had a productive discussion on school safety legislation.