I’m an NRA Sharpshooter. I Support Stronger Gun Laws.
We can celebrate the Second Amendment and save lives from gun violence.
I’m a former Air Force pilot, an NRA sharpshooter, and a gun owner from Burnsville, Minnesota. I support the Second Amendment.
You might be surprised to hear it from me, but I’ll be the first to say the gun laws in our state are not strong enough.
I know what can happen when a dangerous person gets their hands on a weapon. My sister was murdered with a gun in 1986 and it’s a day I’ll never forget. All I can do is learn to live with the pain and try my best to stop this kind of tragedy from happening to another family. Every day in America, more than 100 people die from gun violence. It doesn’t have to be that way in our country, or in our state.
Minnesota
Minnesota’s gun violence problem is getting worse. According to the most recent official CDC data, gun homicides rose 23% in Minnesota from 2020 to 2021. That’s unacceptable. Minnesotans want to live in a state that respects responsible gun ownership and the right of everyone to feel safe.
Rights come with responsibilities. It’s just common sense to have reasonable laws to ensure that guns don’t fall into the hands of people who shouldn’t have them. That’s why I support the package of gun safety bills moving through our state legislature, including a red flag law and universal background checks.
Minnesota already requires background checks, but there’s a huge loophole: they’re only required from licensed dealers. That means a criminal could buy a weapon online, through a private sale from an unknown individual in a parking lot, or at a gun show—no questions asked. HF 14 would close these loopholes and prevent dangerous people from breaking the law and getting their hands on a deadly weapon.
How many times have you read the news about a gun violence tragedy and wondered if only someone could have seen it coming and done something to stop it. The reality is that there are often warning signs—whether someone is planning to harm themselves or someone else. That’s where extreme risk protection orders (aka red flag laws) come into play. HF 15 would allow family members, mental health professionals and law enforcement to petition a judge to temporarily remove someone’s access to guns when there are immediate signs of violence.
Both of these proposals are straightforward measures that will protect Minnesota communities and save lives. Law enforcement, mental health groups, and responsible gun owners like me support these commonsense bills.
Some people say there’s nothing we can do to stop gun violence, but that’s not true. The only people saying we can’t address gun violence are too busy getting campaign contributions from the NRA. These proposed laws are bipartisan solutions to our gun violence problem that we can—and must—do something about. I don’t want what happened to my family to happen to someone else.
coalitions
GUN OWNERS FOR SAFETY
The NRA’s extremist views don’t represent the majority of gun owners. Responsible gun owners understand that commonsense gun laws go hand-in-hand with firearm ownership.
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