Not less guns... MORE guns...

I sipped my coffee. Fired up my web browser. Went to startribune.com, my former place of employment and my favorite online source for news. The headlines were pretty typical.

Teen admitted firing shots that killed Tyesha, jail informant says
Tyesha Edwards was an eleven-year-old girl who was killed last November in south Minneapolis. She was sitting in her house, doing homework with her sister. An errant bullet from a gang gunfight pierced the wall in her house, then pierced her. Killed her. Oh, and the accused shooter is seventeen.

Three girls shot in Minneapolis drive-by
Four blocks away from the Edwards shooting, three girls were shot while standing in front of an auto-body shop. The shooter must have had bad aim-- none of the three suffered life-threatening injuries.

Man charged in drive-by shooting is suspect in teen's death
Seventeen-year-old Xai Vang was waiting on a corner in north Minneapolis for a bus to take him to school. He was shot and killed instantly.

Student shoots middle school principal, kills himself
A 14-year-old boy shot and killed his school principal inside a crowded junior high cafeteria Thursday morning, then killed himself.

So, only naturally, the Minnesota state legislature passed a bill this week to expand the current "carry and conceal" law to allow more citizens to carry handguns. It's apparently obvious (to them) that all of the above problems could have been solved by putting more guns on the streets. Governor Pawlenty, in his never-ending quest to expand his support among outstate rednecks, signed the bill into law after an intense 120 minutes of fact-finding and research.

I find myself so outraged and confused by this that I can barely spit. What *good* can come of this? Does the legislature think that criminals are thinking rationally enough before killing someone with a gun that he/she would think about this? I guess that the legislature will never have to worry about it much, since they will continue to not allow guns within the State Capitol building.

Guns are now allowed in the Metrodome. The University of Minnesota can pass a regulation that bars its students and faculty from carrying firearms in the 'dome, but it has no say over fans and students from other colleges.

How can I get a gun, you may ask? Simply by:

• Applying in person at your local sheriff's office.
• Listing name, address, telephone number and all states of residence for the past 10 years.
• Providing photocopies of proof of handgun training and your driver's license or other photo ID card.
• Authorizing release of mental-health commitment information to the sheriff.
• Signing a statement of belief that you are not ineligible to possess a firearm.

Looks like the only "stumbling block" is that pesky photocopy of proof of handgun training. I bet those are hard to forge. I think it's funny that it's as easy to carry a gun as it is to get a drink at a local bar. (Even easier if you try to go to Scoreboards in Minnetonka.) And those last two bullets are great. "Are you sure you aren't crazy?" "Any other reason why we shouldn't give you a gun?" Expect lots of "no"s on those. So I'm really excited about having more guns around. I'm sure all of those death-by-gunshot headlines will decrease since more people are packing heat. And maybe this headline:

A deadly ride: motorists' anger raged for 3 miles on Hwy. 169

will eventually say that these people took care of matters after only one mile.

What do you think? Drop us a line at webmaster@simpleprop.com and give us some feedback. Maybe we'll even run your letters in future Gambits. 'The Daily Gambit' is updated every weekday.