Thank you for the calls and e-mails you've already made. We're in the home stretch now and we need to double our efforts.
The Minnesota House officially forwarded the Stand Your Ground bill to Governor Dayton last night.
It's time to keep up the pressure and let Governor Dayton know we're not going away!Call: 651-201-3400 (the staff were sounding a bit harried when I called this morning)
Contact Form:
http://mn.gov/governor/contact-us/form/ (They may not be reading the main e-mail address)
E-mail:
Mark.Dayton@state.mn.us (have a couple e-mail addresses? Send one from each of them)
Fax: 651-797-1850 (faxzero.com is a great free online faxing tool. I sent mine from my carpool the past few days)
SPREAD THE WORD: The best wqay to get people to do anything is for someone they know to contact them personally.
Since it's sometimes difficult to start from a blank page, here's an e-mail someone else wrote that I think is excellent:
Governor Dayton,
I urge you to sign HF 1467, the “Stand Your Ground” bill.
As Minnesota law now stands, if a person fires a gun in self-defense the defendant is presumed to have broken the law unless they can offer an affirmative defense. The most important provision of HF 1467, widely known as “Stand Your Ground”, removes the presumption of guilt by those using firearms in lawful self-defense.
This bill has been widely and grossly misrepresented by those opposed to the civil possession and carrying of firearms as “Shoot First”. The same arguments that were originally made in opposition of Minnesota’s Shall Issue carry permit law- that trigger-happy gun carriers would cause “the streets to run red with blood”- are now being repeated despite the complete failure of the “Dodge City” scenarios to come to pass.
You may be aware of a recent case in Iowa in which a man used a firearm in self-protection, and because the county attorney in that case believed that the man had not vacated the scene of an altercation rapidly enough, was tried for using a firearm unlawfully. The jury acquitted him, but only after several weeks in jail during which time he suffered the loss of home, job, and possessions. HF 1467 is necessary to prevent a similar episode from happening in Minnesota.
Some state Law Enforcement Management are against the right of citizens’ ability to protect themselves. They do NOT represent the views of rank and file street officers. These street officers will be the first to tell you that ordinary citizens cannot rely on the police to protect them during the first critical seconds, when their lives are in danger.
The experience across Minnesota, as well as the United States over the past decade or so, is that the carrying and lawful use of firearms by law-abiding citizens increases, rather than decreases, the public safety.
I would like to take you at your word, as that's one of the most important things a politician has ... his integrity.
Again, I urge that HF 1467 be signed into law.
Thank You.
