Posted verbatim:
I apologize in advance for those who have gotten this message more than once, but please take action if you have not already! Sue Fust
IMPORTANT!!! PLEASE TAKE ACTION NOW AND SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT.....
A BILL (HF498/SF446) THAT WOULD ALLOW PEOPLE TO KILL TRESPASSERS OUTSIDE THEIR HOMES
AND TO SHOOT ANYONE IN A PUBLIC PLACE WHO MAKES THEM FEEL 'REASONABLY THREATENED' -
EVEN IF A SAFE ESCAPE IS EASILY AVAILABLE. WE CALL THIS BILL 'SHOOT FIRST - ASK QUESTIONS NEVER.'
SHOOT FIRST IS A BAD BILL, IT IS NOT SELF-DEFENSE, AND WE DO NOT WANT IT TO PASS.
Please contact your legislator now by clicking here. Then forward this message to a friend.
(or cut and paste the following url
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/22 ... _KEY=22756 )
The bill is expected to come up on the House floor and to be heard in
the public safety committee as early as next week! It is not clear which way the vote
in the committee or on the floor will go. Read more about the bill by going to
www.endgunviolence.com
(Also see below.)
Also
PLEASE COME TO THE CAPITOL FROM 9 TO 12 ON THURSDAY, FEB. 28 to
lobby against Shoot First and to support background checks for firearm purchases.
We will be a part of the "One Voice for the Northside" event, with the
North Side Lobbying Coalition, which is speaking out on several issues including gun violence.
We will tell legislators that what is good for North Minneapolis is good for the state.
Come Lobby Together for Change!
RSVP to
csm@endgunviolence.com with your name, address and phone number. We will set up
an appointment with your legislator that morning. If you can't come that morning, but
want to talk to your legislator with our assistance, please let us know and we will work with
you to arrange that.
Sue Fust
Executive Director
Citizens for a Safer Minnesota
MORE ABOUT THE SHOOT FIRST BILL
The "Shoot First - Ask Questions Never" bill would eliminate the long-standing
individual duty to walk away from a confrontation in a public place if it is safe
to do so. The bill would instead permit the taking of a life as a first option
whenever someone feels threatened. The bill would also allow people to sit in
the safety of their homes and shoot anyone who comes into the yard. Yet it is
being misrepresented as a "self-defense" bill, and because of that, it has a
real chance of passing.
Why are people supporting the Shoot First bill?
Although the Minnesota County Attorneys' Association and the
Minnesota Police and Peace Officers' Association oppose the
bill, legislators feel pressured to vote for it. There are deceptive
action alerts going out from the gun lobby. We've heard people say they
think that if someone breaks into their house and is raping their wives or
daughters, that there's nothing they can do about it. That is patently false.
Calling this bill "Castle Doctrine" or "self-defense" is deceptive.
Minnesota already has Castle Doctrine. There is nobody in jail for
self-defense. In Texas, where Shoot First has passed, a man named Joe
Horn cited the law as he spoke to a 911 dispatcher in December about
burglars in a neighbor's yard. Horn was in no danger, but he went
outside and shot two men in the back. Hear the 911 tape at
http://www.gunguys.com/?p=2706.