The red flag bill is equally as bad as it looks to strip gun rights from individuals without proper due process. The lack of process and protections in the bill leaves it wide open for abuses as a form of retaliation by wrongfully reporting someone. The worst part is that this won’t even accomplish the goal of protecting people who may actually need intervention; this bill simply takes individuals’ firearms but leaves them without the counseling or medical care to deal with the situation that would lead to needing this kind of injunction.

The next two of their priority bills are expanded storage requirements and mandatory reporting for lost and stolen firearms. These bills continue the Democrat's trend of treating lawful gun owners worse than they do convicted criminals by victim-blaming them in the event of a theft and putting lawful-abiding gun owners at a severe disadvantage in the event they need to defend themselves. The “safe storage” bill, as they call it, requires guns and ammo to be stored in two separate safes. In the unfortunate event of a home invasion, this puts victims at a severe disadvantage when defending themselves.

I will always defend our second amendment rights and will do everything in my power to stop these bills as they make their way through committee onto the house floor. My Republican colleagues and I have introduced our own firearms legislation. Bills including Stand Your Ground and Constitutional Carry send a clear message that you as a Minnesotan have the right to protect yourself, your family, and your home. 

On Thursday we faced the Earned Sick and Safe Time bill. This bill creates a huge mandate on our businesses and job providers. By dictating the paid sick time policies of every business across the entire state, this bill adds a massive cost to payroll and is just the start of Democrats’ anti-business policy. While it is important that Minnesota workers have access to time off in the event they need it, this bill adds more regulation and massive fines that will crush many small businesses that are already struggling. The free market has already done the work of providing these kinds of benefits to employees and acts as a great incentive to bring in strong talent. I don’t believe we should be interfering in the employer/employee relationship in this way to force a one-size-fits-all mandate on our job creators from Main Street, to our farms, and to our schools. 

We had a number of representatives from the agriculture community visiting the capitol this week. Both the Farmers Union Day on the Hill and Dairy Day took place as these hard-working Minnesotans took a day to make sure their voices are heard at the state capitol. Though many often forget, agriculture is the backbone of our state and makes up a massive portion of our economy. Even more importantly, agriculture keeps us all fed. I am proud to represent so many farmers in our district and always welcome them when they come to visit.