Sunday, March 10, 2013
Fifth District Rep. Keith Ellison hasn’t received any contributions from the gun rights group, but others in Minnesota's congressional delegation have gotten thousands of dollars.
The Sandy Hook school shooting may have added new fuel to the gun control debate, but advocacy groups have given hundreds of thousands of dollars to federal legislators since 2009, according to a report released Friday. Nonpartisan research organization MapLight, in coordination with Tableau Software, compiled contribution totals for the leading advocacy groups in the gun control debate—the National Rifle Association and the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. The NRA’s Political Action Committee dwarfs the Brady Campaign’s in terms of contributions to legislators. It gave about $1.5 million to legislators compared to the Brady Campaign’s $5,900. In Minnesota, the NRA gave nearly $30,000 to legislators—ranking the state 20th in NRA …
Monday, February 25, 2013
Sheriff James Stuart posted a statement on his role and questions of gun control on Facebook Monday.
Anoka County Sheriff James Stuart posted this statement on Facebook Monday afternoon: The role of the county sheriff and gun control: Across our great nation, there has been a great deal of discussion about gun control and the role of the county sheriff. As sheriffs, we hold a unique position as the only elected chief law enforcement officers. The sheriff is the sworn protector of the citizens of the entire county. We report solely to the citizens who have elected us. This is an honor that is affirmed through an oath of office. By taking this sacred oath, I have given my word to support, defend, and obey the Constitution of the United States of America and the State of Minnesota. ... Because of this unique enforcement role, county sheriffs…
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
The SLP student, whom 5th District Rep. Keith Ellison invited to the State of the Union, said he supports limits on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
Sami Rahamim, a St. Louis Park High student and the son of slain Accent Signage owner Reuven Rahamim, spoke to CNN on Wednesday about gun violence and meeting with President Barack Obama. Fifth District Rep. Keith Ellison invited Rahamim to attend Tuesday’s State of the Union as part of an effort to step up pressure for tighter gun control laws. Each member of Congress gets to bring just one guest to the House gallery during the speech. Reuven Rahamim, 61, died Sept. 27 when an employee who had just been fired took out a gun and shot Rahamim and other Accent employees. Andrew Engeldinger then shot himself. Six employees and the gunman died as a result of the shootings that day. Sami Rahamim told CNN that he supports proposals such as …
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Sami Rahamim is the son of the slain owner of Accent Signage, where Keith Basinski of Spring Lake Park also died in a September workplace shooting.
You can draw a line from the workplace shooting that killed Spring Lake Park resident Keith Basinski last September to President Obama's State of the Union speech Tuesday night. U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, who represents Fridley and Spring Lake Park in Congress, has invited Sami Rahamim, a St. Louis Park High student and the son of slain Accent Signage owner Reuven Rahamim, to join him for the State of the Union address. Each member of Congress gets to bring one guest to the U.S. House of Representatives gallery during the speech. Reuven Rahamim, 61, died Sept. 27 when an employee who had just been fired took out a gun and shot Rahamim and others at the company. Andrew Engeldinger then shot himself. Besides Basinksi, who was there on his …
Monday, February 4, 2013
President called on voters to pressure their legislators to pass gun control measures.
Speaking to a crowd of local dignitaries and law enforcement officers on Monday, President Barack Obama called on voters to pressure Congress to act on curbing gun violence. "We've suffered too much pain to stand by and do nothing," he said. "We don't have to agree on everything to agree it's time to do something," he added. What did the Twin Cities think about Obama's visit on social media? Adopting universal background checks, banning military-style assault weapons, limiting ammunition magazines to 10 rounds, and putting more police officers on the street are "common sense," bipartisan measures to reduce gun violence, the President said. He also repeated other proposals to expand access to mental health care for young people. Several …
Several House bills concerning gun laws will take center stage in the Minnesota Legislature starting Tuesday. Fridley's state senator also authored a gun bill.
The debate over gun control will dominate politics in Minnesota this week. President Barack Obama will start the discussion with a visit to Minneapolis on Monday to deliver remarks and discuss with local leaders and law enforcement officials his “comprehensive set of commonsense ideas” to reduce gun violence. "Minneapolis is a city that has taken important steps to reduce gun violence and foster a conversation in the community about what further action is needed," a White House news release states. "President Obama will visit with members of the community about their experiences and discuss additional steps that can be taken at the federal level to reduce gun violence." On the local level, several bills concerning gun laws were introduced …
Video clip from an online news channel segment with Fridley Patch's local editor, on the president's Feb. 4, 2013 visit to Minnesota to discuss gun violence.
Editor's note: HuffPost Live invited me on their live webcast Monday afternoon to talk about President Obama's appearance in north Minneapolis. If the video clip doesn't appear above, you can see it at HuffPost Live.
The Hennepin County Sheriff spoke during a roundtable discussion with President Barack Obama in Minneapolis Monday.
Editor's Note: The story below is a Hennepin County Sheriff's Office press release. Today, Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek joined Minneapolis residents and law enforcement leaders in a roundtable discussion with President Barack Obama to discuss guns and extreme violence. Among the reasons for President Obama’s visit was to highlight why Minneapolis and Hennepin County have sustained overall reductions in violent crime in recent years and to look for solutions to further reduce gun violence. As a strong supporter of the 2nd amendment, Sheriff Stanek talked about how the problem is one of access. “Gun ownership isn’t a privilege, it’s a right guaranteed by the Constitution,” said Sheriff Stanek. “We have an access problem; people …
Watch archived video via The UpTake as President Obama addresses gun violence at the Minneapolis Police Special Operations Center in north Minneapolis.
If you don't see the video of President Obama in Minneapolis here, please visit TheUptake.org.
Here's what people are saying on Twitter about the president's visit to Minneapolis Monday on the theme of gun violence.
Follow what people are saying about President Obama's visit to Minneapolis Monday in the Storify above. Or if you can't see it there, check it out at Storify.com.
mike savick
11:37 am on Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Actually many of us who are neither "pro-gun" or "anti-gun" but, want sensible background checks on everyone who purchases a weapon, belong to neither organizations. Children who are shooting victimes have no choice of organizations. Many of us repect the rights of hunters, recreational shooters, home defenders, but not unlimited access to military style lethal toys with large magazines and … more ›