Posted on 04/30/2003 9:05:01 AM PDT by jdege
JOE SOUCHERAY
Pioneer Press Columnist
Most of what the opponents said about the conceal-and-carry permit, and how they dressed while saying it, did not make sense. More than a few of the elected worthies wore bulletproof vests during the Senate debate Monday, suggesting, I can only imagine, that they anticipate being shot at by their colleagues.
Sen. Linda Berglin, DFL-Minneapolis, whose district includes south Minneapolis, said, "I have a district where our babies are being shot." Berglin was referring to a drive-by shooting last week when three teenagers were shot. "Rest assured, more guns will not make us safer. None of you will be safer in my district if you a bring a gun there, and the children will not be safer."
Berglin's comments were typical of the comments made by other opponents. They do not pass the test of logic. It is not likely that the three teenagers wounded last week were shot by anybody with a legal permit to carry a legally owned weapon. It just doesn't make sense, based on the evidence that the thousands of Minnesotans who already have permits have not been implicated in any drive-by shootings in Berglin's district. It is just as unlikely, for example, that 11-year-old Tyesha Edwards, also of Berglin's proximity, was killed by a shooter with a legal permit to carry a weapon legally owned.
If Berglin's contention is correct then there should be more shootings in, say, Beltrami County, where upwards of 1,000 people have applied for and received permits to carry weapons. My math shortcomings are well recorded, but statistically there are more guns per capita in Beltrami County than there are in Hennepin County, at least legal guns.
As for the idea that more guns will not make us safer Berglin is correct, if by more guns she means more guns illegally operated. I don't know what to make of the final part of her statement. On the one hand she makes the case that her district is apparently so unstable, so lawless, that babies — teenagers — are being shot, but on the other hand makes the case that you disqualify yourself from safety in such an environment if you are the legal owner and operator of a gun. Which is it?
Well, you have to remember that we have a political culture in Minnesota that once blamed a building, 1040 Morgan Ave., for the illegal activity that took place there and it seems clear that we have politicians among us who blame the gun for any violence that might result from its existence.
I don't know if Berglin ever mentioned it, but other urban opponents of the measure routinely brought up the State Fair, as in "people will have guns at the State Fair." I always wondered what their point was. For all I know people have strolled through the Fairgrounds with a concealed gun. I've never thought about it. And I won't think about it now. So somebody with a permit to carry, somebody trained, somebody skilled, might go to the Fair and bring the gun. Are the gun owners going to start bumping off Pronto Pup vendors? I'm going to go out on a limb and say probably not. Or, put another way, if Pronto Pup vendors were going to be shot, they would have been shot by now.
Berglin does not have to acquire a conceal-and-carry permit. In fact, Berglin can place a large sign in the window of her home that says "NO GUNS HERE." Nobody has to get a permit. I'll go out on another limb and predict that the numbers of those expected to get the permit have been greatly exaggerated by the opponents of the measure.
Think of all the people you know well enough to know them well enough. I have never heard anybody bring up the topic of getting a permit. Not once. Not ever. And I'm your friendly resident right-wing nutcase.
All the law means is that honest, law-abiding citizens can get a permit if they choose to. Nothing changes for the bad guys.
Joe Soucheray can be reached at jsoucheray@pioneerpress.com.
One of these might be webcasting it though...
Bemidji - KKBJ-AM 1360
Brainerd - WWWI-AM 1270
Duluth - WEBC-AM 560
Eau Claire, WI - WMEQ-AM 880
Ely - WELY-AM 1450
Fargo, ND - 96.7FM
Hibbing - WMNT-AM 650
Marshfield, WI - WDLB-AM 1450
Rochester - KROC-AM 1340
Sauk Centre - KSMR-FM 94.3
St. Cloud - KNSI-AM 1450
St. Peter - KRBI-AM 1310 (M-F, 9pm-Midnight)
Wadena - KWAD-AM 920
Watertown, SD - KSDR-AM 1480
Willmar - KWLM-AM 1340 (M-F, 3-5pm)
Worthington - KWOA-AM 730
Me Too, I hope that that lawsuit gets settled soon. I miss joe and Jason aka Minnesota's Mr. Right.
And if they had, we would undoubtedly already be hearing the statistic on the number of Pronto Pup vendors killed by guns every day.
Not necessarily. Some of those bad guys might be taken out of circulation; others just might get their tickets canceled.
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