In today’s segment, a Supreme Court ruling on guns sparks debate over age and safety. Plus, how a shoplifter’s arrest may have prevented a mass tragedy in our state.
Transcript
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HOST: You're listening to North Star Stories: Voices from Where We Live, a daily newscast about what it means to live in Minnesota.
ANCHOR: In today's segment, a Supreme Court ruling on guns sparks debate over age and safety. Plus, how a shoplifter's arrest may have prevented a mass tragedy in our state. I'm Gracie J.
Eighteen- to 20-year-olds in Minnesota can now legally carry handguns. In 2003, the legislature legalized the carrying of guns in most public places--but you had to be at least 21 to get a permit to carry. In July of last year, a federal court ruled that the law was unconstitutional. Minnesota's Attorney General then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. But the high court recently declined to hear the case. While young adults can now legally carry a gun, they still must go through the permitting process.
As Xan Holston reports, some see the ruling as a win for constitutional rights, while others fear it will create a safety risk.
Xan Holston: The Minnesota gun owners caucus called it a resounding victory. Gun control advocates call it concerning and gun permit to carry trainers, they say it might be too early to call.
David Taylor: We're seeing a few more people sign up, but it hasn't been a mad rush.
Xan Holston: David Taylor is the Chief Operating Officer at Stock and Barrel Gun Club, a shooting range and gun training facility in the Twin Cities. While he hasn't seen a big push for permits, yet, he expects that as the news gets out, more young adults will sign up. So what happens now that the law gives 18-year-olds the green light to carry firearms?
David Taylor: If people do decide to get their permit, they're actually deciding to follow the law and do things rationally.
Xan Holston: Taylor says the permit process itself encourages responsibility. Carriers are trained not just in how to handle a firearm, but when not to.
David Taylor: That means avoiding trouble at all costs. You know, never going someplace where you think you might need a gun.
Xan Holston: But while gun carriers may have a responsibility to avoid potential trouble. Gun Rights Organizations like the Minnesota gun owners caucus are pushing against that. A recent bill at the state Capitol would have ended Minnesota's duty to retreat before using deadly force. It was narrowly blocked with bipartisan support in a 66 to 66 vote, just too shy of passing to Maggiy Emery.
Maggiy Emery: That's a promising outcome in the state of Minnesota and around the country to see bipartisan opposition to a gun bill is really something remarkable.
Xan Holston: Emery is executive director of Protect Minnesota, a nonprofit working to reduce gun violence. She said that the overturned carry law was just one tool in a broader effort, and its loss doesn't mean that work stops. A bigger concern is how young armed adults respond when under pressure.
Maggiy Emery: Their brains aren't fully formed. They don't have the higher thinking capabilities yet to stop when you're in a moment of crisis and think about the long-term consequences.
Xan Holston: One of the state's arguments in the permit case hinged on the development of the prefrontal cortex in young people. That's the center for rational decision making and emotional response, and it doesn't fully mature until age 25.
Maggiy Emery: it makes it much easier to use a gun as a tool of conflict resolution, as a tool of anger expression, when you're still in the growth phase of your life.
Xan Holston: And that's why the organization will be watching closely. Emory said Protect Minnesota will monitor all the data, not just incidences of permitted carriers using their weapons.
Maggiy Emery: But also how many more young people commit a gun crime because they had access to a gun in a moment of crisis, in a moment of impulsivity.
Xan Holston: An analysis of studies by Rand, a non-partisan research organization, says the concealed carry laws have been found to increase violent crime. Stock and barrels' Taylor doesn't think it'll turn out that way.
David Taylor: I don't think that the facts actually bear that there will be any increase in violence or chaos. I think it will actually be the opposite. I think that having more citizens in Minnesota armed will have a more polite society here.
Xan Holston: For North Star Stories, I'm Xan Holston.
ANCHOR: You are listening to North Star Stories.
Police say a man they arrested for shoplifting may have been planning a mass shooting. Now a judge has issued an order barring him from owning guns. St. Peter police arrested 24-year-old Mohamed Adan Mohamed after he allegedly stole several gun magazines and body armor from a sporting goods store last month. Mohammed had posted threats online with the hashtag death to American and Israeli imperialism. After arresting Mohammed, police say they found evidence suggesting he was planning a mass shooting in the next 24 hours.
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HOST: North Star Stories is produced by AMPERS, diverse radio for Minnesota's communities, with support from the McKnight Foundation and the State of Minnesota. Online at ampers dot org.