Minnesota Moms Demand Action Volunteers Met with Legislators During Annual Advocacy Day, Urging Them to Block Reckless Stand Your Ground and Permitless Carry Proposals
H 238 and S 292 Would Make Minnesota Only the Second New Stand Your Ground State Since 2011
H 188 and S 650 Would Let People Carry Hidden, Loaded Handguns in Public Without a Permit or Safety Training, and Could Force K-12 Schools and Colleges to Allow Hidden, Loaded Handguns on Their Premises
ST. PAUL, Minn. – More than 200 volunteers with the Minnesota chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and the Everytown Survivor Network, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety, met with their representatives today and urged them to oppose dangerous bills introduced this session, including Stand Your Ground and permitless carry proposals—the latter of which could force Minnesota elementary schools and colleges to allow hidden, loaded handguns on their premises. Both H 238, which would create a Stand Your Ground Law, and H 188, which would allow people to carry hidden, loaded handguns in public places without a permit or safety training, are scheduled to be heard in committee Wednesday.
“Once again, Minnesota moms, gun violence survivors, and hundreds of Minnesotans have stood up against dangerous gun bills,” said Marit Brock, volunteer chapter leader with the Minnesota chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. “We are thankful for the opportunity to voice our concerns about bills that would hurt our children, families, and communities, and we won’t stop speaking out – the safety of our state is on the line.”
“As a daughter of a parent who was shot and killed, I know all too well the devastating effects of gun violence on families,” said Everytown Survivor Network member Sa’Lesha Beeks, whose mother, Birdell Beeks, was shot and killed while sitting in her car with her granddaughter on Minneapolis’ north side in May 2016. “Our representatives in St. Paul have a responsibility to protect everyone, and we demand they do so by opposing these dangerous bills. If they don’t, we will find legislators who will.”