It is gun owners lobby day at the Capitol, where advocates demonstrated to express their opposition to a few gun control proposals expected to be considered this session. Those include a push for expanded criminal background checks for gun purchasers, and efforts to beef up Minnesota's so-called "red flag" laws.
The Chair of the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus Bryan Strawser says they're extreme and unjust.
“The governor yesterday pointed to California, and the recent tragic mass shootings that happened in that state as the reason we need these laws in Minnesota,” Strawser said. “California has all these laws and more. They did not stop a determined criminal from committing those atrocities.”
Republican House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth (R- Cold Spring) thanked the group for their advocacy. Demuth is the chief author of the Republicans' "Stand Your Ground" bill, which would allow a person to use deadly force in self-defense in public.
Right now Minnesota law only allows that level of force to be used in a person's home.