Minnesota: Anti-Second Amendment Bill To Be Heard in Committee Tomorrow, March 3!

On Wednesday, March 3, the House Civil Justice Committee will hold a hearing on House File 1396.  This bill includes a provision that would allow a court that issues a domestic abuse protective order to prohibit the respondent from having any contact with a PET OR COMPANION ANIMAL OWNED, POSSESSED, OR KEPT by a party protected in the order.  This new provision could have serious consequences for Minnesotans who exercise their right to keep and bear arms.

Under Minnesota law, a person who is convicted of violating an order of protection may not possess a pistol for three years from the date of conviction.  However, if the court finds the person "used" a firearm in any way during the commission of the violation, the court may prohibit the person from possessing any firearm for ANY period longer than three years or for the remainder of the person’s life.  In the latter case, the court shall also order that the firearm be summarily forfeited.  Because this bill would allow a court to order the respondent to have no contact with the pet or companion animal, such an order could be violated merely by inadvertent contact with a "protected" pet.  Thus, depending on the circumstances of the contact, a person could be subject to these firearms prohibitions for contacting the pet or companion animal, whether or not the contact resulted in injury or trauma to the animal.

Any number of relatively innocent or unintentional scenarios could easily be imagined for such contact.  Even intentional contact with a pet that is the subject of a protective order is clearly too low a threshold for a person to lose the ability to exercise a fundamental constitutional right.  The same considerations simply do not apply to contact with animals as apply to contact with people.  While this bill was originally designed to protect animals, it would also provide unintended and unjustified deprivation of people’s Second Amendment Rights. 

Please contact the members of the Civil Justice Committee TODAY and respectfully urge them to oppose HF 1396. Contact information is listed below.

State Representative Joe Mullery (Committee Chair) (58A- DFL)
651-296-4262
[email protected] 

State Representative Gail Kulick Jackson (Vice Committee Chair) (16A- DFL)
651-296-6746
[email protected] 

State Representative Steve Drazkowski (28B- R)
651-296-2273
[email protected] 

State Representative Bobby Joe Champion (58B- DFL)
651-296-8659
[email protected] 

State Representative Debra Hilstrom (46B- DFL)
651-296-3709
[email protected] 

State Representative Mary Liz Holberg (36A- R)
651-296-6926
[email protected] 

State Representative Sheldon Johnson (67B- DFL)
651-296-4201
[email protected] 

State Representative Tim Kelly (28A- R)
651-296-8635
[email protected] 

State Representative Tim Mahoney (67A- DFL)
651-296-4277
[email protected] 

State Representative Dave Olin (1A- DFL)
651-296-9635
[email protected]

State Representative Michael Paymar (64B- DFL)
651-296-4199
[email protected] 

State Representative Peggy Scott (49A- R)
651-296-4231
[email protected] 

State Representative Torrey Westrom (11A- R)
651-296-4929
[email protected]