Look, I sell guns for a living. I've seen every permit scheme and licensing maze this country has to offer. But what Minnesota is doing to this truck driver? That's beyond ridiculous.
Jeffrey Johnson holds valid carry permits from Florida and Georgia. He's a professional long-haul driver who crosses state lines every week. But the moment his truck crosses into Minnesota, suddenly his constitutional rights don't mean squat. The state basically tells him: 'Hand over your gun or go through our entire permitting process again—pay the fees, jump through the hoops, and hope we approve you.'
Here's the thing that really gets me: Minnesota doesn't even claim this guy is dangerous. He's not a prohibited person. He passed background checks in two states. But Minnesota acts like his permits came from a banana republic just because they didn't issue them.
The Second Amendment Foundation and NRA just filed a brief with the Supreme Court pointing out something our founding fathers understood pretty well: historically, this country always protected armed travelers. We're talking about laws from the 1600s up through the Civil War that restricted carry but made exceptions for people on journeys. Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, Nevada, California—all had traveler exceptions. The Founders didn't want to disarm people just for passing through.
Minnesota's essentially saying the right to self-defense expires at state lines. That's not just wrong—it's backwards. The historical record shows travelers often had MORE freedom to carry, not less. Minnesota's got it completely upside down.
And let's talk numbers. Florida's issued over 6.6 MILLION permits since 1987. Their revocation rate? A tiny 0.36%—and that's for everything from minor infractions to actual crimes. These permit holders aren't the problem.
The Supreme Court needs to hear this case. A right that requires you to maintain a wallet full of government permission slips from 50 different states isn't a right—it's a privilege. And 'shall not be infringed' doesn't come with a residency requirement.
This truck driver deserves to protect himself on the job. Minnesota's arbitrary permit patchwork needs to end.