Hello from the State Capitol,
You may have thought Minnesota House Democrats couldn’t get any crazier with their ideas on what they believe is important to Minnesotans. Then you analyze their words and actions of the past week and wonder if they’re just getting warmed up.
LET THE KIDS LEARN BY WATCHING PORN???
Let’s begin with State Representative Leigh Finke, who opposes a bill requiring age checks on porn sites to ensure kids under the age of 18 are not allowed to access the material.
During a committee hearing on the bill, Finke claimed attorneys general with states that have laws that force age-verification to access porn sites are “almost jubilant about being able to use these laws to ban young people from accessing content that could be educational if they are queer.”
Yes, that is the point. Pornography of any kind has been off limits to kids under age 18 for decades. This should not be controversial. In fact, it’s mind-blowingly vile to suggest that porn is “educational” in any fashion, but especially for a boy or girl whose brain is not yet fully developed – which is the entire reason they are banned from watching porn in the first place!
Please click here to watch Finke’s comments – and mine.
PRISON TIME FOR OWNING A SEMI-AUTOMATIC RIFLE???
This week, the House public safety committee debated legislation that would ban certain semiautomatic weapons, and another banning magazines that hold more than 10 rounds.
In short, if either of these bills were to become law, and you possess either one of these, you could go to prison for five years.
The magazine bill language states that by July 1, 2027, current owners must surrender the banned magazine to local police, make the device permanently inoperable, modify it magazine to only be able to hold 10 rounds, or remove the device from the state.
By comparison, a criminal only gets up to 90 days in jail for committing domestic assault, or up to one year for false imprisonment.
Again, instead of holding violent criminals accountable or offering solutions to flag mentally ill individuals, the only solution Democrats want is to ban guns and criminalize law abiding gun owners, because they are scared by them.
Rest assured, your 2nd Amendment freedoms are safe with me. I will not consider voting for any of this nonsense.
WHEN DEMOCRATS TELL YOU WHO THEY ARE, BELIEVE THEM
Here’s the thing – with the Minnesota House tied between Republicans and Democrats, these crazy ideas are going nowhere. But what you are seeing is the Democrats putting all of their cards on the table. If they gain control of the House next year, all of these bills are moving forward. And if a Democrat trifecta returns to state government (which means Democrat control of the House, Senate, and Governor’s Office), all of these proposals will become state law.
Actions speak louder than words. You don’t have to guess what Democrats would do if they were back in charge of the state - they’re showing you in real time.
Make sure you’re paying attention as session moves forward.
UPDATED STATE BUDGET FORECAST
Earlier today, Minnesota’s economic experts unveiled an updated budget forecast for the remainder of this biennium. It showed a $3.7 billion surplus. But the most important thing to remember is that in the next budget cycle, expenses and inflation are outpacing expected revenue collections by roughly $3.4 billion. This means we should find ways to eliminate some state spending now so lawmakers can better manage this problem during the next session.
LOCAL VISITS
This week I met with members of the Minnesota Grocers Association.
Finally, late last week I was blessed with a 3rd grandchild – a grandson. Mom and her baby are both doing great. The spoiling of this little guy has already begun!