Minnesota Legislature finishes passing new right-to-carry law

The Minnesota House today passed a measure that would allow sane, law-abiding Minnesotans to get a permits to carry loaded weapons in public.

The 86-47 vote sends the bill to Gov. Tim Pawlenty for his signature. He is expected to sign the bill, which is essentially a reenactment of a 2003 gun permit law that the state Appeals Court overturned last month. The Minnesota Senate passed the measure last week.

The House debate on the bill was sedate and, at less than three hours, rather short . . . .

It is hard to remember how tough the votes were when the legislation first passed two years ago. Now that the horror stories have proven to be false, you have almost two-to-one votes for the bill.