ST. PAUL, Minn. — Democrats in the Minnesota House are demanding a ban on firearms in the Capitol complex. Pete Johnson, a Duluth Democrat, made the demand in a letter to House Speaker Lisa Demut. The letter was in response to the arrest of Representative Walter Hudson of St. Paul with a loaded firearm in his car the night of March 28. Hudson had been in and out of the Capitol during the day and was consuming alcohol off-campus at lunch and later at one if not more other drinking establishments. Said Johnson: “The only guns in Capitol spaces should be held by law enforcement, in line with many other states, blue and red.” Johnson noted that only seven states allow firearms at their capitols.
Legislating can be heated. In a U.S. House debate in 1798 Congressman Matthew Lyon of Vermont and Roger Griswold of Connecticut grabbed tongs from the House fireplace and went at it. Image: Contemporaneous woodcut
Hudson. Faces an ethics review with drinking buddy Elliott Engen. Both are Republicans.