Letters: Get a handle on gun laws

The state legislature is busy finalizing the omnibus bills that fund all the state agencies and local governments. Within the omnibus bills there are new policy provisions; the public safety and judiciary omnibus bill has new policy provisions associated with reducing gun violence. The local state legislators have voted against the public safety and judiciary omnibus bills that would also appropriate funds that would support emergency services. Which raises the question if some major crimes in the senate district could be prevented.

The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is the lead investigating agency for officer-involved deaths. Just this year, per deputy superintendent of investigations Scott Mueller, seven law enforcement officers have been shot this year. Not just shot at: shot and killed, Mueller said during a press conference after the April 15 death of Pope County Deputy Josh Owens.

During one of Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher’s online videos, he said people should not leave firearms in a vehicle while the vehicle is unattended. The unattended firearms could be stolen and used for crimes. What he was saying is that those who carry should be able to do so at any place they enter.

Businesses are private and are open to the public, some with memberships and others without memberships. The business owners establish their own policies and expectations for their guests.

Some of the owners of businesses have “no guns allowed” policies and have signs stating so at the entrance. There is case law to support the businesses’ right to bar guns on their property.

Therefore, individuals are expected to respect the posted signs.

This writer has lost a colleague to suicide by using a gun. This death was preventable and affected everyone that was directly and indirectly involved. The need to secure weapons is a step in the correct direction.

In 1991, Supreme Court Justice Warren Burger had a strong opinion on the Second Amendment. He referred to it as the “greatest fraud on the American public.”

John Peura, Moose Lake