Gun debate heats up again at Capitol

Published 9:56 am Thursday, March 12, 2015

ST. PAUL — It’s Gun Day at the Minnesota Legislature.

A House panel was set Thursday morning to debate a handful of proposals that would expand some access to firearms. There’s a bill to legalize silencers and another that would recognize gun permits from North Dakota in Minnesota.

Separate legislation would automatically allow gun permit owners to carry a firearm into the Capitol. Owners currently have to notify the state if they plan to bring a weapon inside.

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It’s a big change from the last time gun legislation heated up at the Capitol. Gun rights advocates successfully fought a Democrat-led move to expand background checks after the mass shooting at a Connecticut elementary school in 2013.