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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
It was a busy week at the Capitol, with a full schedule of committees, floor debates, and visitors.
On Thursday, the House of Representatives debated and voted on two controversial gun control bills.
HF8 (universal background checks) would impose new requirements on firearm transfers between private parties and create strict barriers for law-abiding Minnesotans, but it wouldn’t stop criminals who already don’t follow the law. HF9 (red flag law) would create a process in which family members, friends, or an attorney could petition for an “extreme risk protection order” to prohibit someone from possessing firearms. This would violate due process by never allowing gunowners to defend themselves in court.
I voted “no” on the bills and remain opposed to each of them. I believe they would only infringe on constitutional rights while doing nothing to truly stop people from committing acts of violence with firearms. Instead of pursuing gun control that will only impact responsible gunowners, it’s important that we enforce the laws already on the books to keep guns away from criminals. We must also put emphasis on addressing mental health needs, and these bills fail to do that as well.
In the end, each of these bills passed in the House on Thursday. However, I am confident a Republican majority in the Senate will make sure these don’t become law this year.
Earlier in the day Thursday, the state announced a budget surplus of over $1.5 billion, which is even larger than previously expected. The main thing a billion and a half dollar surplus tells us is that Minnesotans have been overtaxed to create it. Given this healthy surplus, I believe it’s time for tax cuts and time to give taxpayers their money back.
Completely eliminating the state taxes paid by seniors on their Social Security benefits would be a great place to start. We’ve reduced Social Security taxes incrementally in recent years and this large surplus presents a great opportunity to do away with these burdensome taxes altogether. I will also be advocating for tax relief for farmers, main street businesses, families facing high childcare costs, and college graduates with student loan debt.
Ultimately, this surplus belongs to the taxpayers of Minnesota and I hope legislators can agree to help return it.
Please Contact Me
As always, please feel free to contact me on any legislative matter. I value your opinion and you can best reach me at 651-296-0518 or rep.nathan.nelson@house.mn.
Talk to you soon,
Nathan
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