Gun law in effect soon

By Barbara Brown
A new gun law that will go into effect May 28 will allow almost anyone who passes background checks and takes a gun law class to carry a handgun in public.
The new law makes Minnesota the 35th state to have a conceal carry law that allows handguns to be carried in public with a permit.
With the law, state officials are expecting the number of people carrying handguns legally to spike from less than 12,000 to more than 90,000.
Chisago County Sheriff Todd Rivard said there are parts of the law he disagrees with, but it may be to early to tell its impact on Chisago County.
He said allowing carry permits for nearly everyone in the state naturally has him a little nervous.
ìOne of our goals is to keep as many guns off the streets as we can,î he said in a Friday interview at his office in the Chisago County Government Center in Center City.
Previous gun legislation said people could receive a permit on the discretion of a sheriff or police chief based on a personal safety issue or a hazardous occupation.
Rivard said law enforcement officers from several counties are working out logistics on how to allow guns to be carried in a government office ñ which the law does not strictly forbid ñ but not into a courthouse.
In Chisago County, both are in the same building.
ì[The law] says you just canít carry one into a courtroom,î he said.
One of his greatest concerns, however, is the strain it will put on the workload of his assistant who will process all the permit requests.
Paula Johnson now only does paperwork on a few protection permits each year, Rivard said.
ìNow, we donít have any idea how much time sheís going to be spending on this,î he said.
By the time of the mid-Friday interview, Rivard said his department had been taking calls ìleft and rightî from people asking how they can apply for the permit.
The sheriff has only 30 days to run the application and issue the permit or deny issuance, Rivard said.
ìA lot of work goes into one of these checks,î Rivard said. ìI donít want it to get to a point where we have so many applications, where itís taking so long that someone gets through the cracks because we miss the 30-day deadline.î
North Branch Police Chief Jules Zimmer said he thinks area residents certainly will apply for the permits, but he is not concerned that public safety will be compromised.
ìIím in a kind of ësit back and wait to see what happensí place right now,î Zimmer said in a Monday phone interview. ìThe people who were going to carry guns, were going to do it whether they had a permit or not.î
Zimmer said the scenario that makes him most nervous when it comes to the aftermath of the permits being issued, is the ìgood person with good intent who suddenly has a rage and for an instant becomes a bad person and something tragic happens.î
One example could be an increase in road rage incidents that involve guns.
ìAs a peace officer, I donít welcome the idea that everyone around could be carrying a gun,î Zimmer said.
ìBut, if there is a gun incident from someone who receives one of the permits,î he said, ìwe have to be careful about blaming it on the permit.î
Zimmer said North Branch does not have a store that sells guns.
There are only a few shops in the Chisago County area that do sell them, and most of those shops are combined with other sporting goods.
Know your role
Businesses and property owners also have a strict compliance requirement if they do not want guns in their shops or on the property, according to the new law.
However, one requirement may make business owners less strict on enforcing their own policy.
The business owner or one of his or her agents not only must post a sign on the business, but also must verbally tell each person that comes into the business that they do not allow guns.
Landlords may not forbid their tenants or guests of tenants from carrying weapons on the property.
Rivard said that rule really is a carry-over from old gun laws that do not require a permit to have any kind of gun in a house.
Handguns are allowed on school or day care center property but only in a parking lot, not in the building. Anyone with a weapon would be required to put it in a locked trunk, secure lockbox or locked glove compartment while at the school or day care.
Old penalties for taking a gun onto school property included up to two years in prison and/or a fine up to $5,000.
If someone with a permit brings a gun onto school property under the new law, it would be a misdemeanor. The person would face up to 90 days in jail and/or a fine not to exceed $700.
To conceal or not to conceal?
The new gun law has been tagged ìconceal and carry,î but in reality, it does not require anyone to conceal their weapon.
The law does not stipulate that a gun be kept out of sight, or that it remain holstered.
There are no specifications as to the type of holder or box it must be kept in, Rivard said. And, in fact, people could technically walk down the street with a gun in their waistband.
Statistics
According to the National Rifle Association Web site, turning more states into right to carry areas would mean less crime across the country.
The NRA draws a connection between the drop in violent crime over the decade between 1991 and 2002 to a 23-year low and the fact that 17 states adopted right to carry laws.
It cited statistics from the Federal Bureau of Investigation that right to carry states have lower violent crime rates in general with 24 percent lower total crime than states without the carry law.
The NRA claims there are 60 million to 65 million gun owners in America and about 30 million of those people own a handgun.
The NRA claims a recent survey showed 45 percent of American households have a gun.
In Minnesota, having guns in the home is a normal occurrence, especially for the more rural areas of the state or in homes where a hunter lives.
That could be one saving grace for keeping incidents of moments of rage getting out of hand or for accidental discharge, said Chisago City Police Chief Bill Schlumbohm.
The law doesnít require a lot of training on a handgun, Schlumbohm said. The only course required is a one-day session on the legal use of force, with little time spent on the shooting range, he said.
Then there is the other side of the coin, Rivard said.
ìThereís the sportsman, the hunter, who knows how to handle the weapons and keep them safe,î Rivard said. ìThen thereís the other part, the people who would carry because itís their right ñ just because they can.î
He said most of those people probably have good intentions and just want to exercise their right, but anyone with a permit also may carry it too far.
Law enforcement officers issuing permits are not allowed to keep a record of the serial numbers of guns owned by the permit holder.
The permit does not limit the number of guns one person could carry in public, Schlumbohm said.
Just knowing that the number of handguns on the street will be higher after the law goes into effect in a week could change the way deputies and officers treat civilians.
ìMaybe there will be less officers willing to give someone a ride in their cruiser,î Rivard said. ìThere might be more suspicion from the officers who do make traffic stops to be extra cautious.î
Besides the training course, Minnesotans who want to carry a weapon with a permit have few requirements to meet.
They must be at least 21, a resident in the county in which they apply, not be prohibited from having a firearm, must not be listed in the criminal gang investigation system and have $100 to pay for the permit.
Rivard pointed out that if 10 years has elapsed since an applicantís criminal conviction, that person would be eligible for a permit, even if the conviction were for a felony.
Back to the Wild West?
Another hot-button issue late in the legislative season this year was whether to allow bars to stay open one hour past the current closing time of 1 a.m.
The issue had been passed by the state Senate and state House by press time, but had not been signed into law by the governor.
Rivard said he doesnít want the state to have a ìwild westî feel to it by allowing weapons in bars and restaurants serving alcohol.
The new gun law says no one who is under the influence of alcohol or drugs may carry a weapon in public.
But, if drugs and alcohol already impair judgments ñ whatís to stop them?
If someone is caught with drugs in their system or a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .10 or higher, they could be charged with a misdemeanor for the first time and a gross misdemeanor the second time.
Their permit would be revoked for one year and the person could reapply after that time.
Someone under the influence of drugs or with a BAC of .04 to .10 could face misdemeanor charges with no increase in penalties for second offenses. Their gun permit would be suspended for 180 days.
ìPart of me says itís not going to be a huge deal,î Rivard said, ìbut you just donít know. Safety for the officers is No. 1.î

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