Goodhue County Sheriff election.

[jmw55018]

as we all know sheriff albers was always super slow when issueing carry and purchase permits. Albers has announced he will not be seeking re election.

so far the 3 candidates are : Todd Hanson, Marty Kelly, and Scott McNurlin.

i know nothing of Todd Hanson.

When i was in high school Marty Kelly was the school cop. he always struck me as kind of a goofball. While he is definatley a good man and a good officer, i dont see him as sheriff.

I didnt know much about Scott McNurlin till i started checkin around on the internet. He seems to be the best suited to the job. he is also currently the cheif deputy of the goodhue county sheriffs department.

Kelly and McNurlin both have websites. http://www.martykellyforsheriff.com/ http://www.mcnurlinforsheriff.com/


Any way i liked what i read about mcnurlin enough to send him an email asking about the carry permit issues. below is a copy of my email to mcnurlin, and a copy of his response.



my email to McNurlin :


Hi, I understand you are running for sheriff. I am a handgun carry permit holder and i was just curious where you stand on the issue?

It seems that sheriff Albers always takes his time when it comes to issueing permits.

When i got my carry permit it took 34 days to get it. I also had to call several times and ask about it. It also took longer then the specified 30 days for my girlfreind to get her permit.

In the past before i had my carry permit, if i remember correctly, it took almost 2 weeks to get a purchase permit. i believe the law states the time frame for that is 7 days. (I may be wrong as i am just remembering this off the top of my head)

While this isnt really a huge issue with me, it is a concern a lot of people share. When i have time there are a few minnesota specific gun forums i go on. It seems that every person who has posted on the time frame of getting their carry permits has been forced to wait more then the required 30 days.

Also there is the cost of the permit itself. A new application costs $100. A renewal is $75.

I understand that there is some paperwork involved and also the background checks, but this does seem a bit excessive, considering when you purchase a new gun the dealer can make a phone call and get things oked in minutes.


When you couple the costs of training, with the cost of the permit application itself, this can really put people off on the whole process. I dont beleive that people should be priced out of the right to legally defend themselves.

Im sure you are a busy person so i wont pester you anymore in this email with some of my other concerns.

Your response would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your service to us all.

John

and the response :


John, Thank you for your inquiry about the permit to carry process. Because your questions are campaign related, I have to answer you from my home e-mail address and not my work e-mail.



I’m an advocate of the permit to carry law. I have several friends and family members who do not work in law enforcement that are permit to carry holders. I do not see any problems with law abiding citizens willing to put themselves through the screening process required to have a conceal carry permit owning or carrying a firearm. We in the law enforcement community know there are criminals who carry firearms everyday that would be prohibited by law to do so but do nonetheless. I also believe there is research demonstrating that states with permit to carry laws show a direct correlation to the drop in violent crimes against persons shortly after the legislation is enacted. Last year, Minnesota showed a 4% drop in violent crime. I think that may say something.



As for the process taking too long and the cost being too high, I agree with you. A very good friend of mine recently came to my office to speak with me about that very complaint. His permit to carry took over the thirty days to process. We need to improve the process. Unfortunately, I think we have over taxed our one employee charged with this responsibility. I spoke with her today, and I’m convinced we need to figure out a way to either get her some extra help or we need to spread some of the tasks out to other clerical staff so the process gets done quicker. We need to comply with the timelines set forth by State statute.



As for the cost, we are charging the maximum amount allowable by statute however, I’m not sure that’s defendable. The State takes a small piece out of both the new applications and the renewals ($10 and $5 respectively), and the County gets the rest. The portion of the fee the County collects is intended to cover our employee’s time for the processing of the paperwork and the time to conduct the local and national criminal information checks. I need to do a little internal research to find out what our actual costs are associated with doing this work. If we are too high, I will bring those costs down.



If you have any other questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me via e-mail or by phone.



Sincerely,





Scott McNurlin



I have left out his email address and phone number as im sure he doesnt want all the spam, also the copy of his email was posted with his permission.

[bstrawse]

I don't live in Goodhue county, but wish I did just to vote for this guy. A well thought out and reasonable response... Thanks for sharing!
b

[jmw55018]

his response has me quite hopefull.

[1911fan]

IF he were to post that on his election website, I would be willing to donate to his election.

[Paul]

IF he were to post that on his election website, I would be willing to donate to his election.

It's not likely that it's an important enough issue to the vast majority of the voters to be worth his time.

[jmw55018]

i was considering sending him an email suggestion he post something of that nature on his site. i just dont know if he could thow with all the liberals in the area.

[nyffman]

I'm with user842 and jmw55018 on this. I think it's up to the shooting community to get the word out on this. I think quite a few people lead with their emotions on this issue. They react with more than a little help from the anti's before really thinking it through. In the current political climate, I think he's doing the right thing.

[jmw55018]

considering the sheriffs department in located right in the middle of Red Wing I think it would all most be election suicide if he posted it on his site.

there are a lot of hunters and gun loving folks in Red Wing but i think there are also a lot more liberal wackjobs.

[talk22]

Has anyone bothered to ask Marty Kelly or Todd Hanson where they stand on the issue? If you think McNurlin is the only one that supports the conceal and carry I think you will be surprised. You should dig a little deeper before deciding on who to vote for.

[talk22]

Just talked to some friends in Cannon Falls and they have a Marty sign in their yard and say all their friends do as well because of his view point on conceal and carry. Its worth asking about if that is what you will base your vote off of.

[RobD]

Just talked to some friends in Cannon Falls and they have a Marty sign in their yard and say all their friends do as well because of his view point on conceal and carry. Its worth asking about if that is what you will base your vote off of.

What is his view... Pro, Against?

I'm personally against conceal and carry.

[hammAR]

I think it's up to the shooting community to get the word out on this.

So along this line of reasoning: how many permits are there in Goodhue County? Is there enough that the "shooting community" could discuss moving this forward on the candidates behalf? Is there a promise of a "shooting community" fund raising events?

Money and Votes count, BS walks...........

[nyffman]

So along this line of reasoning: how many permits are there in Goodhue County? Is there enough that the "shooting community" could discuss moving this forward on the candidates behalf? Is there a promise of a "shooting community" fund raising events?

Money and Votes count, BS walks...........

That's pretty much my point. I don't know how many valid permits are currently in foce in Goodhue county. In 2009, they had 240 permits issued. This is a little more than 20% of the number issued in Ramsey County during the same time period. Sure, I would like to see this be a major issue in that Sheriff's race. But, I don't live in Goodhue County. If there is a small, committed group in that county who feel it is important enough to push the issue, that may be enough to make it so. If not, then it won't be. That's the way the, so called, [d]emocratic form of govt works.

[bensdad]

Just talked to some friends in Cannon Falls and they have a Marty sign in their yard and say all their friends do as well because of his view point on conceal and carry. Its worth asking about if that is what you will base your vote off of.

What is his view... Pro, Against?

I'm personally against conceal and carry.

Sorry Rob. I think maybe the only one who needed to "get it" - didn't get it.

[Chunkychuck]

Just talked to some friends in Cannon Falls and they have a Marty sign in their yard and say all their friends do as well because of his view point on conceal and carry. Its worth asking about if that is what you will base your vote off of.

What is his view... Pro, Against?

I'm personally against conceal and carry.

Here is a copy of the e-mail I sent to Marty Kelly today. I'll report back when I get a response.

Officer Kelly,

With the recent Supreme Court ruling in McDonald vs. Chicago that the 2nd Amendment is binding on states and cities, how do you view the Supreme Court decision? Also what are your views on the Minnesota Personal Protection Act and its provisions since as Sheriff you would be responsible for the issuance of said permits? With your permission I would like to share your response on some forums that I participate in where the Goodhue County Sheriff's election is being discussed.

Chuck Friemel