Minnesota Defined
It all started in November when we, as a state, elected nearly every Republican we could. A very scary time. When you're bypassing a statesman like Walter Mondale for a Norm Coleman like Norm Coleman, you're in trouble. Norm's claim to fame is that he brought NHL hockey back to Minnesota by using tax dollars to buy the millionaire owners an arena. He must be very proud. In his defense, can anyone name a better use for our tax dollars than giving it to people who already have plenty of money?
You can?
Okay. In his defense, can anyone name 1001 better uses for our tax dollars than giving it to people whom already have plenty of money?
Didn't think so!
So, the legislative session starts. First thing on the docket, the budget bill. In this time of national insecurity, society as a whole is demanding more police. Well, not in conservative Minnesota. The Republican budget calls for massive cuts (as it would be foolish to raise taxes) meaning cities will have to downsize (not rightsize) the number of police officers.
So what does the average Minnesotan do now to help secure our state from terrorists? Buy a handgun. We've passed legislation straight out of the NRA giving more people easier access to gun permits. The theory is that if there are more guns, crime will go down. Okay, the rationalization may not be straight out of the NRA; more like straight out of the Grassroots party which believes if you legalize drugs fewer people will use them. So more guns equals less violence. God bless Minnesota.
If you visit Minnesota, you may notice a lot of businesses and churches with signs posted telling you that guns are not allowed on the premises. The workers/greeters may also tell you guns are not allowed on the premises. That's because the law dictates that, if you don't want guns on your premises, you must BOTH post a sign AND verbally tell the visitor that guns are not allowed. It would make more sense to assume that guns are not allowed unless a sign is posted reading guns are allowed. (Like anyone with a cash register wants to see a gun.) But, hey! This is Minnesota; we're conservative, you hippie!
One place you won't see a sign is the state capital building. No, it's not because guns are allowed at the state capital. They're banned there; by the same law. While throughout the state, more guns equals more safety, guns shouldn't be in the capital building. You see, you can't have people carrying guns at the state capital. Having guns around would be dangerous! Duh!
But that's not the only conservative legislation. Much to the glee of our anti-ERA conservative brethren, Minnesota has officially declared that women are ignorant. It's right there in a bill deregulating (also a common conservative agenda term) circuses. Connecting women's intelligence with circuses? Who says Republicans don't have a sense of humor?
The legislation was called by its supporters the "Women's Right to Know" act. It was, by the opposition, called the "Women are Stupid Act." That's incorrect. The act states that women wanting an abortion must be given specific information regarding the dangers of abortion. The bill assumes that, given the right amount of the right propaganda information, women will make the correct decision. (Not abortion.) If women were assumed stupid, it wouldn't matter how much information you gave them. It would be assumed that women would still make the incorrect decision. Therefore, I call the legislation a declaration of ignorance.
You may say, as the legislation's proponents say, that women deserve all the information they can get. Why do opponents want to limit information for women? Information is fine. Information is power. The problem is three-fold. 1) The information the conservatives are giving women access is propaganda; only one side is given. 2) The propaganda reportedly promotes support services to women and children that may no longer be there because of funding cuts in the conservatives' budget bills.
3) There was no attempt by the Republicans to add a "Gun Users Right to Know Act" to the gun-permit legislation. Aren't gun owners as a group as deserving of information as are women as a group? Why do Republicans want to limit information for gun users? And if the Republicans are so keen on information, why did they cut K-12 funding by 2 percent? The legislation was not intended the empower women. The legislation was intended to curtail power women have over their bodies.
There are plenty of apocalypse predictions as there are whenever any legislation is debated. I'm not going to go there. The legislation may be idiotic, unconstitutional, and/or mean-spirited. But it's not the end of the world (for the majority). Most of us will survive. During our survival, how will we bide our time? That's difficult to say with the new political leanings of the state. What is it conservatives do? Attending protests is out. Coffee shops are out. Watching R movies is out. Bicycle rides are out. Love ins are out. Reducing, reusing, recycling? Out, out, out! Hmm. What to do? May I suggest going to a NHL game? There's a fancy new stadium for it!
If only someone packing heat would explain the rules to the women.
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The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer and do not neccessarily reflect those of the rest of the family.
© 2003, Mark Wentz