Gun Control Reform Activism

The House Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee discussed the bill, sponsored by the chairman, Rep. Michael Paymar, DFL-St. Paul, but recessed until 7 p.m. for a final vote.
Opponents said the bill was delayed because Paymar does not have the votes to pass it. Paymar admitted that the vote is close, and that he may try to change the bill before the night meeting in order to win passage.
Rep. Tony Cornish, R-Vernon Center, chief opponent of the bill on the committee, said all GOP members and two DFLers oppose it. He said the delay was engineered to put pressure on the Democrats to approve the bill.
One of the DFL opponents is Rep. Debra Hilstrom, DFL-Brooklyn Center, an Anoka County prosecutor whose district is mixed on the issue but who has never been highly rated by the NRA. She has sponsored a rival bill that the NRA supports, which focuses on blocking straw purchases of guns by intermediaries and punishing felons who illegally possess weapons.