Conceal/Carry Law Shot Down

Minneapolis Star Tribune ^ | July 14, 2004 | Staff

[corbie]

Conceal/carry law shot down

Minnesota's conceal and carry gun law was declared unconstitutional today by a Ramsey County District judge. Ruling in a lawsuit brought by several churches, Judge John Finley wrote in his decision that it was unconstitutional for the 2002 Legislature to bundle the conceal and carry gun language with an unrelated bill.

[corbie]

Breaking news from the Peoples' Republic of Minnesota: The Minnesota Personal Protection Act of 2004 has been ruled unconstitutional by an activist judge acting on a suit filed by local churches and pled by a former DFL state attorney general whose record includes a dubious firearms "sting" operation ...

[Joe Brower]

[Knute]

What liberal denominations were behind this fiasco?

Let me guess....

[jdege]

Already posted.

[Jokelahoma]

I know there are differences between state constitutions and the US Constitution, but just thinking out loud here... if bundling bills or riders or even amendments to a bill which are unrelated to the language of that bill is in fact unconstitutional, then aren't about a third of all laws currently in effect now null and void? (Not that that would be a bad thing, necessarily...)

[Sloth]

What? A leftist judiciary thwarting the voters & the legislature through fabricated rulings? I refuse to believe such a thing could happen in America.

[maestro]

Conceal/Carry Law Shot Down

Does that include terrorist's BODY BOMBS?

(Get a plane)......

Uh,...a plan, Plan, PLAN.

/sarcasm

[Protagoras]

I'd happily trade this small defeat for consistency across the board on the subect of bundling legislation.

[MplsSteve]

As a Minnesotan, I have to say that this doesn't surprise me.

I am surprised at how long it took some of the liberal interest groups to get organized and to seek out a sympathetic judge.

These groups tried to organize a movement to over-turn Concealed Carry in the Legislature but it really wasn't going anywhere.

So why not cover all your bases by seeking out a sympathetic judge? //Much Sarcasm

[BenLurkin]

http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/4873980.html

"Joint Religious Legislative Coalition in Minneapolis. It works with groups of many faiths, including Protestants, Catholics, Jews and Muslims."

I suspect these are left leaning congregations but that is only my speculative opinion.

[School of Rational Thought]

This just may provide a greater opportunity to publicize the fact that the Churches' portrayal of blood in the streets and greater danger was a false god. The light of day may just be a benefit to the freedom cause.

There is also an opportunity to go after these so-called churches and their tax exempt status. The reason they have tax exempt status is they supposedly are nonpolitical. It seems that by becoming named plaintiffs they have abandoned that cloak of protection for this political fight. The folks in Minnesota really need to investigate this angle. Certainly the children of Minnesota could benefit from theses additional monies.

[gov_bean_ counter]

Dang, I thought conceal Kerry was just a campaign strategy. I didn't think someone would actually try to write it into law.

[drc43]

So was the unrelated bill also struck down? Are they gonna go back and strike down all unrelated bills?

[paul51]

I'd happily trade this small defeat ....

Great. What's small to you may be large to others and rights shouldn't be traded off and bargained for in any event

[Protagoras]

What's small to you may be large to others and rights shouldn't be traded off and bargained for in any event

I can't trade anything, but if I could, I would trade this setback for the larger victory of each and every piece of legislation standing on it's own merits and voted on seperately.

The first can easily be remedied by passing stand alone legislation on concealed carry.

The omnibus type legislations are where the trade offs and bargaining really occur. All to your detriment in the vast majority of cases.

[Protagoras]

Are they gonna go back and strike down all unrelated bills?

Probably not, but it's not a bad idea.

[shrinkermd]

Judge Finley like his brother is a liberal Democrat. They must have picked a judge on their political credentials.

[Fred Hayek]

I doesn't surprise me either. I live in Minnesota, I own a business in Minnesota, but after living here for nearly three years, I still refuse to call myself a Minnesotan - or is that a Euphorian.

[TheDon]

Ruling in a lawsuit brought by several churches, Judge John Finley wrote in his decision that it was unconstitutional for the 2002 Legislature to bundle the conceal and carry gun language with a "totally unrelated bill relating to the Department of Natural Resources."

Huh? On a technicality? Whatever.

[School of Rational Thought]

CCRN meeting tonight at Hamline Law School in St. Paul at 7:30pm