While self-defense advocates (okay, gunnies) were taking time off work and away from their families to show up for and testify at hearings on some seriously ugly gun bills in Minnesota, DFL Rep. Alice Hausman who sponsored two of them – an “assault weapon” ban and a mag cap limit — couldn’t be bothered to show up to defend them herself. Instead she sent Heather Martens, a paid flack for the Joyce Foundation-funded AstroTurf® organization, Protect Minnesota (formerly known Citizens for a Safer Minnesota). According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune — no friend of gun rights, they — “That is an extremely unusual practice for a legislator seeking to get bills passed in the Legislature.” Unfortunately, Ms. Hausman had “other commitments” . . .

My guess is that she was avoiding another public spanking administered by lawyer, law-school prof and Gun Owners Civil Rights Alliance President Joe Olson. Whatever the reason, do you know why the Strib found the practice of letting a lobbyist present her bills for her so unusual? Simple; because in doing so, she broke the rules of the MN House of Representatives. Specifically:

Article II – Floor Proceedings, Voting, Decorum:

2.39 Executive Branch Or Lobbyist Presence In Committee. No House committee, division or subcommittee shall permit any member or staff of the executive branch, registered lobbyist, or lobbyist principal, to be seated at the committee table with members of the House during official proceedings of committees of the House.

And no matter how she may try to twist and turn, the fact of the matter is that presenting a bill would absolutely be considered as “seated at the committee table with members of the House.”

And the antis talk about the NRA having legislators in their hip pocket.

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34 COMMENTS

  1. Toss ’em out then as invalid. If she couldn’t be bothered to show up it’s obvious she really doesn’t care either. Stupid bills, stupid b!tch

    • What, like NAGR? That’s a lot better.

      Regardless of the name, GOCRA has done great things for Minnesota. They pretty much have the credit for getting Minnesota’s carry law passed, and they deserve it.

    • Like NAGR?

      Regardless of the name, GOCRA has done great things for Minnesota (helped get MN’s carry law passed). There are many brilliant individuals in the organization.

    • Gun
      Loving
      Owners
      Committee of
      …Kinetics?

      Rifleman’s
      Ultimate
      Group of
      Energetic
      Resistance

      Committee
      Of
      Litigious
      Target-shooters

  3. Not to generalize too much, but why do all of these women politician anti’s look alike? Is there a clothing store and salon that they all go to?

    • Im sure when you obsess over one thing during your career, there isnt much time for anything else. These people arnt stupid, as many here would suggest, which leads me to believe it takes a LOT of time trying to appear stupid.

      • You are correct they are not stupid and neither are we. It is a matter of values. Obama and DiFi aren’t stupid. They are often and usually uninformed about factual gun issues related to society and the technical aspects of guns yet that is not their concern. They value a different social system with the unarmed masses obedient to the state and controlled by an elite corp of people who think and feel as they do.

        • They’re not uninformed. They simply willfully neglect the facts that don’t support their argument. It’s kind of like defense attorneys. To better argue your client’s innocence, you never want to know whether or not they’re guilty. Once you know they committed the crime, the ability to passionately defend them goes out the window.

    • Forget the clothes, does anyone notice how all these state bills look alike? Who is really authoring all of the state initiatives?

      • I think that one’s really easy to explain. Most of the sponsors don’t really know what they’re talking about, they just “know it when they see it.”
        So, since they don’t know what they’re talking about, they just copy the ones that other people have proposed.

      • The DNC? George Soros? Who knows, but I agree that they all seem to be on the same sheet of pre arrainged music.

      • Lobbyists write, or assist in the writing of, lots of bills. And then they help explain what they wrote to the legislator.

  4. So why was she allowed to speak? Anyone one else on the committee could say she broke the rules. There should a mile high drift of email to condemn this.

  6. It’s MN, and the committee is dominated by the Dems.

    Anyone who did object to issues with the proceedings was shut down by Chairman Mao…. err.. Payanmar.

    • Oh, but you left out some of the best parts….
      1. Chairman Paymar mistakenly calling Heather Martens -Rep Martens.

      2. Heather Martens waving a bloody shirt by plopping up pictures of Sandy Hook victims during her final arguments for the bills.

      3. 2000 Pro gun rights showing up at the hearings over the week vs 200 antis. Of the 200 anti’s 100 were school children bused in from Northern Minneapolis to “observe the hearings”

      There are probably more, but those come to mind.

      • Oh, you forgot the other big one: when the antis had run for over an hour (they were allotted 20 minutes), half the committee up and left for “other commitments” and as a result saw none of the pro-rights argument. None.

  8. If she broke the rules someone should start whatever punishment process is available- I’m hoping the gallows are an option.

    • She only broke the rules because the Chairman of the Committee allowed her to. He should be removed from the Public Safety Committee for allowing it.

  9. There is simply no doubt that someone (Diane Frankenstein) at the top of the Donkey party has sent down marching orders to all fellow Donkey worshipers.

    Create and submit insane ati-gun bills in your states. The thought is if we all do it everywhere at all levels, Federal, State, Local….something is eventually going to stick.

    THE WORST part about this is they all get to use MILLIONS upon MILLIONS of tax payer dollars to foot the bill for all of this BS. While the GOP can fight back, they need to introduce counter bills. Gun owners have to rely on NRA and other groups + donations if the GOP wont stand up.

    The GOP should submit a simple bill at the Federal level that will be pushed down to states….

    Inline with the 2nd amendment, citizens will be allowed to have the same firearms that their local/state police forces are allowed to have….no less no more. If the police forces in your state have AR’s with 30 rounds magazines and pistols with 15+ rounds so can everyone in that state. Individual cities cant override this federal law. Same goes for DHS and the FBI. Only the Military can have more.

    So that means in New York Cuomo’s security guards get 7 rounds mags for their pistols and AR’s. They cant have SBR’s of any type etc.

  10. So Bruce if we are correct could these bills be tossed? Also could she be given a reprimand for such bad behavior, you know like a UN Censure, doesn’t do much but pretty much says don’t ever try and run for office again.

  11. Hope they good Reps kill her bills show whats antis are like they have no gonads to fight because they have no facts to back them we do.

  12. Same thing in Colorado today… Universal background check bill up for debate, and neither of the sponsors bothered to show up…

    Should mean the bill gets thrown out.

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