Daily Digest: Gun issue not going away

Good morning, and welcome to Monday. The Legislature is on a break this week, but I think there will be plenty of news. Let's check the Digest.

1. Gun right supporters march. Several hundred gun rights supporters gathered at the Minnesota Capitol Saturday, a week after thousands of people turned out to push for restrictions on the sale of firearms. An organization called Minnesota Gun Rights hosted the event. A permit filed with the state said up to 400 people were expected, and it appeared about that many came to the Capitol grounds. Organizer Christopher Dorr told the crowd their Second Amendment rights are at risk because of recent gun control legislation introduced at the state and federal levels. "Gun owners like you and me and the tens of thousands friends and family who couldn't be here, we are getting trampled on. We're getting assaulted by the people in this building," Dorr said. "Gun owners are not respected. We're under full blown attack in this building." So far the Republican majorities in the Minnesota House and Senate have kept any new gun restrictions from moving. (MPR News)

2. Some Twin Cities students keep up push for gun control. Student leaders who have organized, marched and pressed for government action to halt gun violence sound as if they’re just getting warmed up. Plans are taking shape for April 20 school walkouts tied to the anniversary of the Columbine High shootings, along with a rally that afternoon at the State Capitol. Next weekend, students in the south metro have called for a town hall meeting — with invites sent to elected officials — hitting again on themes that propelled them to rally and protest: the senselessness of gun violence and the hesitance of some lawmakers to take corrective action. “I think legislators who do nothing on this subject do so at their own peril,” said Joe Campbell, a communications consultant whose GoFundMe campaign sent dozens of Henry Sibley High School students to Washington, D.C., for last weekend’s March for Our Lives. He attended the event, too, and came away thinking, “If I were a politician, and I saw this, I’d be shaking in my boots.” (Star Tribune)

3. "Penny-a-pill" opioid measure hits hurdles. When supporters rolled out what they called "penny-a-pill" legislation last month, they described it as a bipartisan effort to raise needed money to combat the opioid overdose epidemic that claimed hundreds of lives in Minnesota last year. But the legislation faces an uncertain future after strong opposition from pharmaceutical companies and some business interests.The legislation, as originally proposed, would charge pharmaceutical companies a fee for every opioid painkiller they sell. That would raise an estimated $20 million in continued funding for abuse prevention efforts, wider access to the overdose medication naloxone and more resources for treatment. But the House version of the bill no longer includes the fee on manufacturers. Instead, money for the programs would come out of the state general fund, which would be one-time funding. And last week the Senate version was tabled by the bill's author in the committee she chairs. (MPR News)

4. Ellison shows signs of restlessness. In addition to vying for the appointment to the U.S. Senate after Franken’s resignation late last year — Gov. Mark Dayton went with now-Sen. Tina Smith instead — DFL U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison also considered a run for Minnesota attorney general when it looked like the incumbent, Attorney General Lori Swanson, would run for governor. “It’s been the state attorneys general that have been protecting Americans’ rights in the Trump era,” Ellison said, pointing to the work of Swanson and others who have fought President Trump’s ban on new immigrants from certain Muslim nations, tried to enforce protections for undocumented youth under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, sued pharmaceutical companies amid the opioid crisis and made efforts to protect net neutrality following federal deregulation. Soon after Ellison’s interest became public, Swanson opted out of the governor’s race and announced a re-election bid. That interest is telling, a GOP official said. “The congressman has repeatedly said his agenda is to resist the president and his goals for a brighter future for all Americans. … His restlessness in Congress stems from the knowledge that the tides are changing, and the fringe positions of his party will no longer sway the American people,” said Minnesota GOP Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan in a statement. (Star Tribune)

5. Proposed work requirement for Medicaid recipients is controversial but alive. Shauna Reitmeier sat at a Minnesota Senate committee table telling lawmakers the bill they were considering would hurt mentally ill patients she serves. Sitting inches to her right Thursday was Sen. Mark Johnson, the Republican from East Grand Forks who sponsored the bill. The legislation would require some able-bodied people to work if they receive government-funded health care. “An arbitrary line is being drawn about who is worthy and who is not worthy of getting health care,” said Reitmeier, CEO of Crookston-based Northwestern Mental Health Center. She said the bill, if it becomes law, would “add anxiety and stress” to mental health patients. Northwestern is the only comprehensive mental health center in Johnson’s district. (Pioneer Press)

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