Background checks for guns considered at Capitol, but political divide as stark as ever

Bob Mokos and Andrew Rothman, two Twin Cities men on opposite sides of a heated gun debate at the State Capitol on Tuesday, agreed on this much and nothing else: the Legislature is not going to pass any bill toughening Minnesota’s firearms laws this year.

That was clear at the outset of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s “informational hearing” on two bills to tighten Minnesotan’s gun laws, including a broadly popular proposal to require stronger background checks. By the end, the committee’s chairman and sponsor of both bills acknowledged as much.

http://www.startribune.com/gun-debate-stirs-minnesota-capitol/377142141/#1