Freedom by limits

[vakkotaur]

As jmaynard mentioned, the "concealed carry" bill was finally passed and signed into law here in MN. It's more a "carry" bill - the weapon could be concealed but now, well eventually, would simply be permitted to be carried beyond one's own property. The critical change in the law is from "may issue" to "shall issue." The permit can still be denied, but now the denier can get called on it and will have to show a convincing reason for the denial. Those who would deny, a small number, are limited, and that limit upholds the freedom of a large number.

There was also a decision by the Minnesota Supreme Court about searches and traffic stops. The Minnesota Constitution has some privacy guarantees that I wish were in the U.S. Constitution. The upshot of all this is the current ruling that a traffic stop cannot become a search or an interrogation (beyond the reason for the stop) without a "reasonable suspicion" that a(nother) crime is being committed. This limits how a search be instigated, and in doing so preserves freedoms. It removes the idiotic "What do you have to hide?" question that exists even if not explicitly asked and puts the burden of proof on the accuser, which is exactly where it belongs.