Free Republic

Gun enthusiasts said it would deter crime. Gun-control advocates said the measure would increase it, spawning needless deaths. But Minnesota's permit-to-carry handgun law appears to have done neither, according to an analysis of state crime statistics. Instead, it has accomplished something else entirely in the five years since it was enacted: It's kept clerks at sheriffs' offices hopping busy with paperwork. In anticipation of the five-year renewal deadline, the Dakota County sheriff's office added a second clerk to handle permit applications and background checks for residents who wish to carry their guns in public. But the rush hasn't been as...

Democratic hopefuls vary a bit on death penaltyBy David Mendell Chicago Tribune staff reporter February 20, 2004 This story contains corrected material, published Feb. 21, 2004. Leading Democrats seeking their party's nomination to the U.S. Senate generally agree that laws governing capital punishment, drugs and guns should be overhauled, although they differ about how that should be accomplished and the role of the federal government in that process. [...] All of the candidates endorsed stricter gun-control measures, but each said tougher enforcement of existing gun-control laws should be a priority over the introduction of new laws. Each candidate supported closing...

Many of you have seen my map: About a year ago, someone asked if he could put the map on the Concealed Carry page on Wikipedia. I said yes, and the image was added. Since then, there have been several attempts by Wikipedia admins to have it pulled. First, it was yanked because it hadn't been posted with the permission of the creator - despite my having not only granted permission, but having explicitly added to the image a statement that I had done so. The image was eventually restored, after I formally released the image under a Creative Commons...

Editorial Observer A couple of weeks ago, I checked into a hotel in Bloomington, a Minneapolis suburb framed by the airport and the Mall of America. On the hotel door was a sign: “Firearms Banned on These Premises.” The next day I drove to St. Joseph, an hour west of the Twin Cities, where I saw the same sign. Slowly the logical conclusion sank in. If firearms are banned on these premises, then they must not be banned in other places. Sure enough, a year ago the State Legislature passed a “concealed carry” law, which means that it’s legal to...

Could it be that more guns cause less crime? Could it be that criminals who suspect their potential victims are armed would be deterred from committing crimes? That's what John R. Lott Jr. argued in his 1998 book, "More Guns, Less Crime." But could it be that Lott is wrong; that other researchers have been unable to confirm his thesis? That's what Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner argued in their bestselling 2005 book, "Freakonomics." How should this debate be resolved? Lott's solution is to try to get the U.S. District Court in Chicago to issue an injunction blocking...

Assembly Fails To Override Concealed Carry Bill Veto State Has Banned Concealed Weapons For 133 Years UPDATED: 6:58 pm CST January 31, 2006 MADISON, Wis. -- The state Assembly failed to muster enough votes on Tuesday to override Gov. Jim Doyle's veto of the concealed carry bill. The 64-34 vote means Wisconsin residents still won't be able to legally carry hidden guns and knives. The Assembly would have needed 66 votes to override the veto. Two Democrats, state Reps. John Steinbrink and Terry Van Akkeren, changed their votes on the conceal carry issue -- both initially voted for the bill...

Concealed carry in gov's court GOP hopes for veto-proof edge By Todd Richmond Associated Press The state Senate approved a Republican bill that would let Wisconsin residents carry concealed weapons, setting up what could be a fierce political clash between the Legislature and Gov. Jim Doyle. The Senate's 28-5 vote Tuesday sends the bill to Doyle, a Democrat who already has vetoed one version of it and has vowed to veto this one. "The governor believes people carrying loaded weapons around will make Wisconsin less safe," Doyle spokeswoman Melanie Fonder said. But Republicans say people should be allowed to fight...

Allowing concealed guns a bad idea By ADAM A. MEYERS Racine, Wis. I am a police officer with the Racine Police Department and a part-time police officer for another community in Racine County. This is strictly my opinion and I am not speaking on behalf of the communities or law enforcement agencies that employ me. The Wisconsin law against carrying a concealed firearm has worked effectively for over 130 years. Deciding to pass a concealed carry law in Wisconsin that will allow almost every adult to carry a concealed firearm is a potentially dangerous decision. Carrying a concealed firearm and...

Committee Votes Down Amendments To Concealed Carry Bill MADISON, Wis. -- An Assembly committee narrowly defeated Tuesday amendments to a bill that would allow Wisconsin residents to carry concealed weapons, including one outlawing guns in day care centers. The Republican-led Assembly Committee on Criminal Justice and Homeland Security voted 7-5 along party lines to approve the overall bill, sending it to the full Assembly for debate Thursday. The measure would allow Wisconsin residents who pass firearms training to obtain permits to carry concealed handguns and other weapons in most public places. The committee voted down a series of amendments to...

Concealed Weapons Debate Brewing At Capitol POSTED: 11:29 am CDT October 28, 2005 UPDATED: 11:47 am CDT October 28, 2005 MADISON, Wis. -- A shootout over concealed guns is brewing at the state Capitol. News 3’s Prema Chandrathil reported on why there's an argument over keeping the names secret of those who get concealed carry permits. News 3 reported capitol insiders say the concealed carry bill will likely be passed, and could have enough votes to override a promised veto by Gov. Jim Doyle. The bill keeps permit holders secret, but the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council says the public...

Mac Mouths Off Conceal carry laws should not include privacy provisions By Susan MacLaughlin When my step-dad died last spring, my family began a long process of clearing out his personal possessions. Some we gave to charity, and others, including family heirlooms, were dispersed among his children, siblings and nieces and nephews. As we culled through his closet, I was shocked to learn that my family owned a gun. I deserve the right to at least know they have that power. What floored me was when my mom nonchalantly asked me to take the gun out to my uncle's truck....

Another concealed carry bill set to be unveiled today By Tom Sheehan MADISON - The state Department of Justice would handle background checks and issue most gun permits under a concealed carry bill to be announced at a Capitol press conference today, said state Sen. Dave Zien, R-Eau Claire. Those provisions are among the most significant changes made from last session's concealed carry bill, which called for sheriffs to issue permits, Zien said. Supporters hope this bill has a better chance of becoming law than in 2003, when Republicans fell just one vote shy of overriding Gov. Jim Doyle's veto...

Concealed carry is another chapter in legislative nonsense By Joseph Geck Posted: Sept. 26, 2005 I do not own a handgun, but both of my sons do. They have invited me to target practice, and I want to join them. I would like to go hunting. It's on the list of things I'd like to do before I die. I dislike the gun control debate in this country because both sides are very irrational and use data that is flawed. We are now debating a concealed-carry law in Wisconsin. I know the Legislature needs a break from its grueling work,...

Editorial: State's gun law is in trouble, again September 14, 2005 Twice the Minnesota Legislature has passed, and Gov. Tim Pawlenty has signed, laws requiring that law-abiding, safety-trained adult Minnesotans be licensed to carry concealed weapons if they choose. Twice, advocates of this law have overreached in trying to force the law's power where it doesn't belong. Twice, they've lost in court. [...] This is an unnecessary fight; when the law was being reintroduced this year, its proponents were asked to give churches the power to ban guns from all their lands and buildings, and the flexibility they sought in...

Concealed carry bill is based on myths JOHN SEE State Sen. Dave Zien is introducing another concealed weapons bill, the purpose of which is to encourage people to carry loaded handguns in public places. Zien, an Eau Claire Republican, claims this will save lives by scaring off criminals. But in fact, it might do just the opposite. Anything that increases gun ownership has risks. If you love your kids, you'd better listen up. A recent study at Harvard University found that among children between the ages of 5 and 14, the percentage of gun deaths from homicide, suicide or accident...

Judge sides with churches on conceal-carry law Minnesota churches deserve an exemption from a state law requiring them to either post a sign or verbally inform people that concealed handguns aren't allowed on their property, a judge has ruled. Hennepin County District Judge LaJune Thomas Lange granted two Twin Cities churches a temporary injunction Friday, the first legal blow to a 2005 law that was passed after an earlier version stumbled in the courts. "The 2005 Act impermissibly intrudes into the free exercise of religion by arbitrary definitions, which dictate restrictions on the use of church property for worship, childcare,...

Editorial: It's baaack. Make it go away From the Journal Sentinel Posted: Sept. 7, 2005 Last time around, the state Senate showed appalling disregard for public safety and the Assembly only slightly less so. This time, with Milwaukee's homicide rate approaching a record pace, we're hoping some modicum of propriety, leadership and common sense takes hold. The issue is a renewed effort to enact a law allowing Wisconsinites to carry concealed weapons. This is a bill that should simply go away. More than 80% of Milwaukee's killings this year were the result of gunfire. So, more guns - what a...

Catching up on Minnesota gun permits Conrad Defiebre, Star Tribune June 26, 2005 Hundreds of prospective gun-toters have lined up at sheriff's offices around Minnesota in a new rush for handgun permits since they became widely available again one month ago. According to a state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension database, 932 permit applications have been filed since the state's 2003 handgun law, suspended for nearly a year by court rulings, went back on the books May 25. [...] "We're seeing a little surge now," said Dakota County sheriff's Capt. Jeff Schwartz. "It was starting to wind down before." Dakota County...

Pawlenty Signs Conceal-Carry Bill into Law Gov. Tim Pawlenty on Tuesday signed a bill that allows easier statewide access to handgun permits. The law, which restores an identical 2003 measure that was struck down by the courts, takes effect immediately. The so-called conceal-carry law allows law-abiding people over the age of 21, to get a gun permit as long as they have a clean record, no mental illness and proper safety training. Several state courts struck down the 2003 law, citing the unusual procedure by which it was passed in the Legislature. Lawmakers moved quickly this year to re-pass it...

Here we go again on concealed carry With the concealed carry legislation through both chambers of the state Legislature and headed to Gov. Tim Pawlenty's desk for his signature, advocates of the measure are celebrating. Not so fast. While we agree with the measure in principle and the purer legislative means by which it was passed, there are some provisions that are causing us some concern. One is the clause that says landlords cannot deny tenants the right to carry. Hamline law professor Joe Olson, one of the principals in Concealed Carry Reform Now, the group that pushed for the...

Handgun Bill Goes To The Governor May 18, 2005 12:59 pm US/Central St. Paul (AP) A bill allowing more law-abiding Minnesotans to legally carry a handgun easily passed the House on Wednesday and now goes to Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who said he will sign it. The Republican-controlled House voted 86-47 to reinstate the so-called conceal-carry law, which has been overturned by the courts. The 2003 law allowed adults with a clean record, no mental illness and proper training to get a permit to carry a gun. After the courts struck down the law, citing the procedure by which it was...

Nye's shooting suspect charged Kevin Duchschere, Star Tribune May 17, 2005 A Minneapolis man fatally shot restaurant doorman Billy Walsh four times in the back after the suspect had been tossed out and pestered Walsh to get back in, according to criminal charges filed Monday. [...] The homicide, Minneapolis' 18th of the year, has drawn special attention because Ourada is believed to be the first Minnesota gun permit holder charged with murder since the state's 2003 permit-to-carry law went into effect. The law required sheriffs to issue permits to people trained to use a pistol safely and not prohibited from...

Gun bill a slam dunk in Senate Conceal-carry measure goes to the House BY RACHEL E. STASSEN-BERGER Pioneer Press In a solid win for pro-gun forces, the Minnesota Senate passed a measure Friday that would allow nearly all law-abiding citizens to get permits to carry loaded handguns in public. The 44-21 vote likely clears the way for the Minnesota House to pass the bill early next week and send it to the governor for his signature. Lawmakers first passed the measure, alternatively called the conceal-carry bill or the Personal Protection Act, in 2003, but the state Appeals Court last month...

Senate Approves Bill To Restore Gun Bill Struck Down By Courts May 13, 2005 6:13 pm US/Central St. Paul (AP) Gun control advocates in the Senate got an opportunity they were denied two years ago, as they tried -- but ultimately failed -- to set stricter limits on who can carry a handgun in public as their fellow lawmakers voted to revive a court-overturned 2003 gun permit law. "I will not be silenced on this bill and I will not hesitate to point out what a terrible bill it is," said Sen. Wes Skoglund, DFL-Minneapolis, even as a bipartisan group...

More guns no answer to public safety problems HEATHER MARTENS Mark Yost, the Pioneer Press' staff mouthpiece for the National Rifle Association, has surprised nobody by stating that any law restricting guns is bad. Last week, his case in point (column, April 26) was the assault weapons ban, which expired in September. I agree with Yost on one issue — that the assault weapons ban was imperfect. The criminal use of banned weapons dropped during the ban. But the criminal use of non-banned assault-type weapons increased. Yost's solution to an imperfect law with loopholes is … you guessed it. Loosen...

From: CCRN_ComCenter@mnccrn.org To: All_CCRN_members Subject: *** ALERT IMMEDIATE ATTENTION NEEDED *** - Report Date: Wed, 4 May 2005 00:18:39 -0400 (EDT) MPPA 2 Update and other messages A bill so nice we will pass it twice. Today the Rules committee passed the MPPA re-enactment legislation on to the Senate calendar. At this point it can be taken up at any time. We suspect that it will be next week because we are told that the financing bills come first. At this time the Senate is going through one of them per day. There are seven. The bill reported out of...

Heather Martens: Gun-permit proposal's back, packing few facts Heather Martens May 4, 2005 Here we go again. Conceal and carry is back! There have been a few changes in rhetoric since 2003, when the law passed allowing just about anybody with a pulse to get a permit to carry a gun in every corner of the state. It was thrown out in court because of the way it was passed. But now it's back, as if nothing was learned the first time around. [...] Well, these guys didn't win any debate points, but they are still winning. Right now, they...

Concealed-carry bill clears Senate panel after makeover POLITICS: Senators add fingerprinting requirement and more gun-free zones, but the changes probably won't pass the full Senate. BY BRIAN BAKST ASSOCIATED PRESS ST. PAUL - Legislation to restore an overturned law dictating who can carry a pistol in public moved through a Senate committee Monday, but only after the bill was changed to require fingerprints from permit seekers and to create more gun-free zones. While gun-control lawmakers won the day, supporters of the law expanding access to permits said the fight was far from over. They believe they have enough senators in...

Senate committee carves up handgun permit bill by Laura McCallum, Minnesota Public Radio May 2, 2005 Sen. Pat Pariseau, the sponsor of the handgun permit bill, says the changes being proposed are too restrictive. (MPR Photo/Laura McCallum) A revised version of Minnesota's handgun permit law survived a key committee vote at the Capitol Monday. The Senate Crime Prevention Committee kept the bill alive by sending it to its next stop without recommendation. The committee also made significant changes to the bill, and supporters of the current law say some of the changes go too far. St. Paul, Minn. — Two...

Legislature Primed to Reinstate Invalidated Gun Law A slightly revised version of the state's high-profile handgun permitting law picked up momentum in the Legislature on Wednesday, two weeks after the Appeals Court upheld a decision to strike it down on a technicality. On a 7-5 vote, with all Republicans in favor and DFLers opposed, the House Civil Law Committee voted to reinstate the 2003 law, which created a uniform standard for obtaining permits to carry guns in public and led to more being issued in the state. The prior law gave sheriffs and police chiefs wider power to deny permits....

Its about Liberty - Gun rights Rally at the Capitol. Repost far and wide. With the Appellate Court decision in and range protection tied up in Committees it is time to show our strength at the Capitol. We want the MPPA re-passed and range protection passed this session. So we need to show our strength at the Capitol. Our Rally for Liberty is Saturday May 7th from 11:30 until 2PM. Come and make your voice heard. We expect the Legislature to be there this Saturday as it is close to the end of the session. We have invited Speaker Sviggum...

Opinion: Macho politicking on concealed carry makes no sense By James Rowen, for WisPolitics.com There's a whiff of gun-totin' vigilantism in the air, thanks to politicians like Waukesha County District Attorney Paul Bucher and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. They think the answer to crime, and this is the crucial point -- the perception that a crime might occur -- is getting more guns in what they say are the right hands. In Florida, that soon will include the right to open fire, arguably one of the predictable outcomes of Bucher's goal of what has called "leveling the playing field" between...

(I'm embedding my own comments, because there' s just too much wrong with this article to deal with them at the end.) April 14, 2005 Court rules gun law unconstitutional By Ryan Dionne Minnesotans can no longer carry concealed guns in the state after the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled it unconstitutional Tuesday. Simply false. The law that was overturned made changes to the standards by which permits were issued. It did not create the permits. With the law overturned, Minnesota reverts to the old law - the permits that are outstanding and the permits that are now being issued...

STATE OF MINNESOTA IN COURT OF APPEALS A04-1302   Unity Church of St. Paul, et al., Respondents, Adath Jeshurun Congregation, et al., Respondents, City of Minneapolis, Respondent, People Serving People, Inc., et al., Respondents, vs.  State of Minnesota, Appellant.   Filed April 12, 2005 Affirmed Randall, Judge   Ramsey County District Court File No. C9-03-9570     Mike Hatch, Attorney General, Lori Swanson, Solicitor General, Thomas R. Ragatz, Ann K. Bloodhart, Assistants Attorneys General, 1800 NCL Tower, 445 Minnesota Street, St. Paul, MN  55101 (for appellant)   Marshall H. Tanick, Mansfield, Tanick & Cohen, P.A., 1700 Pillsbury Center South,...

Gun shop owner selling provocative T-shirts again Rochelle Olson, Star Tribune March 23, 2005 Minneapolis gun shop owner Mark Koscielski coined the city's notorious sobriquet "Murderapolis" in 1995 and renewed the term to sell new T-shirts Tuesday. The black $15 T-shirts say "Murderapolis 2005" above a drawing of the grim reaper in front of the city's skyline. On the bottom, white letters read, "I'm back." Koscielski said he'll keep the $6.75 profit from each shirt for the children's gun safety courses he offers for free, the next of which is in May. "We teach our kids how to drive a...

Million Mom March comes up a bit short Nick Coleman, Star Tribune March 16, 2005 NICK0316 There were a million moms at the Cathedral of St. Paul Tuesday. Minus 999,979. Five years ago, the moms could have taken a run at a million. But five years ago is a long time, when you are talking about politics. Five years ago, the Million Mom March turned out thousands against guns in St. Paul and then, on a beautiful Mother's Day in May of 2000, assembled three-quarters of a million strong in Washington, D.C., to demand that the nation's lawmakers put an...

Minnesotans await decision on concealed-carry law HANDGUNS:The lawyer leading the fight tells opponents of the law to expect an appeals court decision by mid-April. BY JOHN MYERS NEWS TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER Minnesotans should find out within weeks how the state's controversial concealed-carry handgun law will play out, with a decision from the Minnesota Court of Appeals due by April 13. That's what the lead attorney for opponents of the law said Saturday at a meeting of the Million Mom March anti-handgun violence group at Pilgrim Congregational Church of Christ in Duluth. Twin Cities attorney David Lillehaug, former U.S. attorney in...

If he can't carry a gun, who can? MARK YOST If the Minnesota Court of Appeals is having trouble deciding the fate of the Minnesota Personal Protection Act, they should consider the story of Matthew Dirks. The 23-year-old East Side native served 15 months with the Army in Iraq at Baghdad International Airport and Camp Dogwood. Last week, St. Paul Police Chief John Harrington denied him a carry permit. Dirks' primary job in Iraq was repairing the weapons systems on Bradley Fighting Vehicles. He also stood guard with the M249 light machine gun and .50-caliber heavy machine gun. He has...

The legislature is in session so your rights are at risk. Within days of the session opening, legislators are looking for ways to whittle away at your rights below are two bills of concern we want you to know about. Bill Name: SF0213 Authorizing probation officers to access information relating to persons permitted to carry pistols under the citizens personal protection act Authored by Sen. Moua The law Sen. Moua wants to change has been declared unconstitutional and no longer exists. This does not mean that Sen. Moua and other Metrocrats will want to find a way to open up...

Sen. Combs & lots of others have submitted a "shall issue" concealed carry bill In NEBRASKA {LB 454}. Nebraska is one of the 4 States that allows NO "carry".

Conceal-carry battle aired in state Appeals Court BY SHANNON PRATHER Pioneer Press Conceal-carry battle aired in state Appeals Court Lawmakers didn't dupe the voters when they passed the state's controversial conceal-and-carry gun law as part of a natural resources bill, Attorney General Mike Hatch told the Minnesota Court of Appeals today. The gun bill received more media attention than any other piece of legislation during the 2003 legislative session and lawmakers correctly tied the conceal-and-carry weapon bill to rules on snowmobiles, fish houses and parks fees because they were all government regulation of potentially hazardous devices, Hatch explained. That's why,...

State's conceal-carry gun law debated before Appeals court Conrad Defiebre, Star Tribune January 14, 2005 An appellate hearing on the disputed constitutionality of Minnesota's handgun law produced a lively three-way debate Thursday among Attorney General Mike Hatch, a lawyer for a group of churches and a three-judge panel of the Minnesota Court of Appeals. [...] Attorney Betsy Schmiesing, arguing for the churches, said the principle at stake is "an important constitutional safeguard and not a mere legal technicality." Many times, she added, the courts have struck down laws that violated the single-subject rule and "the Legislature still hasn't gotten the...

Hatch to defend state handgun law in court January 13, 2005 State Attorney General Mike Hatch will personally defend Minnesota's handgun law in oral arguments before the state Court of Appeals today, a move he says is based on broad principle rather than the highly charged politics of gun control. [...] He said his decision in the handgun-law appeal has nothing to do with either his often-rumored designs on the governor's office in the 2006 election or even his own opinions on gun control. "I haven't taken a position on this law," Hatch said. Many of his fellow DFLers in...

Minnesota Bucks GOP Trend Amid Republican gains nationwide, state Dems narrow the lege gap by Paul Demko Two years ago Patti Fritz, a Faribault nurse, took on a long-entrenched Republican, Lynda Boudreau, in a race for the Minnesota House of Representatives. An eight-year incumbent, Boudreau had become a hero in conservative circles for taking the role of lead advocate for legislation that would allow people to carry concealed handguns. Fritz recalls that during that 2002 race, she was pressured to support the concealed weapons bill. "I had working people tell me, 'Can the crap, put your gun on the table...

A 64-year-old man gunned down an armed robber Friday night in an apparent act of self-defense during a card game at a social club on Genesee Street, police said. A second suspect - a 16-year-old Woodlawn Avenue resident - has been charged in the attempted robbery, after being wounded during the exchange of gunfire, police said. The shooting occurred about 9:30 p.m. in 743 Genesee St. - described by police as a social club where senior citizens gather to play cards. Two masked men - one armed with a shotgun, the other with a pistol - showed up and told...

Doug Grow: Lover of birds, seller of guns Doug Grow, Star Tribune September 16, 2004 GROW0916 I go through life constantly being surprised. Tuesday evening, for example, I stopped by Koscielski's Guns and Ammo shop on Chicago Avenue in south Minneapolis, figuring there would be a big truck backed up to the door, with suddenly-legal weaponry being lugged into the store. I figured that everything from grenades to machine guns would be available to the gun crowd, given the fact that our stalwarts in Washington allowed the federal ban on assault weapons to bleed to death as of Monday. "So...

Ramsey judge won't set aside conceal carry ruling BY MARIE McCAIN Pioneer Press The Ramsey County District judge who declared Minnesota's "conceal and carry" law as unconstitutional has rejected a request to leave the law in place while his ruling is appealed. In an order filed today, Judge John T. Finley denied the request made by lawyers with the state attorney general's office. Finley's ruling means those who seek a permit to carry a handgun will have to do so under the requirements of Minnesota's old permit law, which gives county sheriff's and chiefs of police greater discretion when deciding...

Supreme Court denies swift review of gun law ruling The Associated Press - Wednesday, August 18, 2004 ST. PAUL An appeal of a judge's decision declaring Minnesota's new concealed handgun law unconstitutional won't get quicker-than-usual consideration from the state Supreme Court. Lawyers for state government had asked the high court to take the case immediately, bypassing the Court of Appeals. In a two-sentence order filed Tuesday, Chief Justice Kathleen Blatz denied the petition for accelerated review and also rejected the Minnesota Civil Liberties Union's request to file a friend of the court brief in the case. In July, Ramsey County...

Conceal-carry ruling due soon from Ramsey County judge Ashley H. Grant, Associated Press August 9, 2004 A Ramsey County judge plans to decide soon whether a new gun law that made handgun permits available to most adults should remain in effect until a higher court rules on its constitutionality. Ramsey County Judge John Finley said Monday he would take the issue under advisement and issue a written decision on the matter. [...]

Man looses conceal and carry permit following assault Watch Video Publishing date: 07-23-2004 10:11 AM (KAAL) -- Eric Larson probably knows better than anyone that just because a person is issued a permit to carry a concealed handgun doesn't mean he can use it any way he wants to. The 47-year-old Albert Lea man made his first appearance Thursday in Mower County District Court. Larson is charged with second-degree assault for allegedly pointing a loaded handgun at Austin Burger King manager Samuel Johnson. The incident occurred Tuesday afternoon in Burger King's parking lot following an argument between the two men...