What you can do today:

1. Call the governor’s office, and ask him to sign HF1467, the Stand Your Ground bill, TODAY!Metro: 651-201-3400
   Toll Free: 800-657-3717
2. Write a real letter, on paper. These are incredibly effective in convincing a politician of how seriously we take an issue.
   Governor Mark Dayton
   130 State Capitol
   75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
   St. Paul, MN 55155

   Suggested language: “Please sign HF1467, the Stand Your Ground bill, today.”

3. Send an email: Go to the governor’s web site at http://mn.gov/governor/contact-us/form/, and send the same message.
4. Got a fax machine? Send a fax with the same message to 651-797-1850.
5. Forward this to a dozen friends and ask them to do the same.

What you can do tomorrow, and every day until he signs the bill:

1. Do it again (see above). Seriously.

HF1467/SF1357 Summary
HF1467/SF1357, the Defense of Dwelling and Person Act of 2011, brings “Stand Your Ground” protections to Minnesota, restores the presumption that a person using self defense is innocent until proven guilty, enhances Castle Doctrine, prevents the state from seizing guns during an emergency (remember Hurricane Katrina?), improves carry reciprocity with other states and requires the government to do its job to serve law-abiding citizens.

The full text of the bill can be found here: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bin/bldbill.php?bill=H1467.2.html&session=ls87

Here’s some more detail about the bill:

Adds Stand Your Ground
HF1467 brings “Stand Your Ground” protections to Minnesota, removing the requirement that an intended victim of violent crime must retreat from a place where he has a right to be before using deadly force in self defense.

Enhances Castle Doctrine
The bill also strengthens Minnesota’s “Castle Doctrine,” clarifying when and under what circumstances individuals can legally use deadly force to protect themselves in their homes and vehicles. In addition, it creates a presumption that, when faced with an apparent home invasion, carjacking or kidnapping attempt, a person may use deadly force in self defense.

Adds Universal Carry Permit Acceptance
Of particular interest to carry permit holders, the final article of the bill updates our carry permit reciprocity standards, allowing people holding carry permits from any other state to carry in Minnesota (under Minnesota law, of course). This should result in a large increase in the number of states where Minnesota permit holders can carry, since many states allow other states’ permit holders to carry on a reciprocal basis.

Prevents Gun Seizures During a State of Emergency
Taking a lesson from the problems in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, the bill also bans government agencies from seizing guns or ammo, revoking permits to purchase or carry, closing gun shops, or otherwise suspending our constitutional rights during a civil emergency — or at any other time. It also prohibits law enforcement officers from seizing a person’s gun, unless the person is arrested, or the gun is evidence of a crime.

Enhances Purchase Permit Rights
The bill also borrows a page from the Permit to Carry law, providing a more robust appeal process for denied purchase permits, and requiring that police chiefs and sheriffs whose purchase permit denials are overturned must pay the applicants’ legal costs.

Please forward this link to gun owners and civil rights supporters, and ask them to sign up for our email blasts at http://www.gocra.org/join.html