Free Republic

ST. PAUL, Minn.—A task force studying security at Minnesota's Capitol is starting a review of regulations for having firearms in the building. The Advisory Committee on Capitol Security has two hearings planned on the topic, the first coming Wednesday. Next week, the panel expects to take public testimony. People with proper permits and notice can have a gun with them in the Capitol and nearby buildings. Hundreds of people have declared their intention to do so since Minnesota last updated its handgun permit law. During last session's hearings on eventually unsuccessful gun legislation, some people showed up with their firearms...

From Virginia to Arizona, federal and state gun laws are loosening everywhere from national parks to Amtrak trains. But in St. Paul, a proposal that would send Minnesota in the opposite direction is headed toward its first hearing Friday -- a bill requiring background checks on the purchaser of any firearm sold at a gun show. The proposal pits its DFL sponsor, St. Paul Rep. Michael Paymar, against the mighty arsenal of gun rights advocates and lobbyists who have managed to turn back nearly every effort to tighten Minnesota's gun laws in the past. In a session dominated by pressing...