by Steve Timmer

Jan 18, 2013, 7:00 AM

On comments – January 18, 2013

Commenter Mac left this comment yesterday on No word from Tony Cornish so far:

I, too, am disappointed that my representative has not offered his legislation yet.  I can only trust that he is still collecting co-sponsors.

The DFL should schedule a hearing — complete with School Board members, teachers, insurance representatives, police enforcement, etc.

If the DFL does not do this when they are in the majority, they will suffer when Gun-toting Tony reclaims his Chairmanship of the House Public Safety & Crime Prevention Policy … (remember Tony Cornish did not have a DFL challenger in 2012 after the DFL scrambled to name a candidate at the last minute in 2010 for which I never saw one lawn sign supporting her), so he just needs to wait for the MN-GOP to return to power … and with a MN-GOP as Governor, his legislation will be quickly enacted.

Members need to be put on the record now where they stand on this issue.  If this is what they want, then let them tell us so they can be re-elected or defeated in 2014.

Funny thing is that I just came from Lake Crystal where Tony recently retired as Police Chief … I passed the elementary school complete with its temporary trailer … parked my car in front of the police station … watched as the police cruiser passed … heading in the direction toward the high school.  I can only trust that Lake Crystal finest must be on constant patrol between the two schools (which happens to be a few miles apart).  I wondered how they handle the after-school activities (Lake Crystal won the Academic Decathlon state championship) and have various sports and arts programs.  Surely, as police chief, Tony must have anticipated the Sandy Hook threat and already ensured that proper police protection was established before he retired.

Voters need to hear from Tony … he has experience and should discuss how he came to his proposal … after all, he should be able to discuss a number of cases … such as Jennifer Nibbe, who reported a burglar broke into her rural Lake Crystal home, grabbed a shotgun and killed her husband, James, while he slept.  (Nibbe is currently serving time for his murder) … or a waitress at a Lake Crystal watering hole Ashley Sullivan who was shot and killed in her bed by her ex-boyfriend … or the case of Jeff Skjervold of nearby Amboy who shot two police officers who responded to a domestic dispute call.  Skjervold said a deputy entered his house while he was arguing with his wife — he reached for a rifle not knowing that it was a deputy who had entered. The situation escalated … gunshots were also exchanged including Skjervold acknowledging that “he shot an officer in a tactical uniform in the face.”

And let us not forget the number of suicides where guns were the “weapon of choice” … btw, Shawn Haugen committed suicide after killing Ashley Sullivan while Jeff Skjervold also committed suicide after a 7 hour standoff with police.

Yep, that’s what we need: more guns.

Remember, Tony Cornish’s motto “You can’t rape a .38.”

Update: And here’s a second comment from Mac this morning:

While the headline in the Mankato Free Press was about the assembly of a tactical response team made up of officers from Nicollet, Blue Earth and Le Sueur counties at a home in North Mankato that ultimately resulted in 15-20 shots fired and one dead … the Free Press also reported Public Safety Committee Chairman Michael Paymar, DFL-St. Paul, promised Tony Cornish that a hearing on two bills that he wants enacted later this month … the one piece of legislation will allow teachers — and probably other staff — to carry concealed weapons even if a school’s principal or other school administrators don’t approve … while the second bill is another attempt to require public colleges to allow students to carry handguns on campus if they have the applicable permits — something that I blogged about after he started talking about it after Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois shootings.

No word on Cornish’s Constitutional Amendment so that the Minnesota Constitution affirms the rights of firearm owners which he offered last session.