Governor Walz and the Attorney General's office are going after an indoor gun range in Cloquet, MN for remaining open in defiance of the Governor's recent illegal executive order. Chad Walsh and his wife, Laura, own Dead On Arms which provides law abiding gun owners a place to train their self defense skills; an important part of exercising our 2nd Amendment rights. However, Walsh has been harassed by the state and sheriff's department for remaining open, pointing to the closure of "indoor sports facilities" in Walz' orders as the basis of the complaint.

Chad not only believes the orders are illegal, he says they go against an important state statute that protects the rights of gun owners during state emergencies. MN Statute 624.7192 states that no government official may "prohibit, regulate, or curtail the otherwise lawful possession, carrying, transportation, transfer, defensive use, or other lawful use" of firearms, ammunition or components of those items.

As the chief legal officer in the state, it's a shame that Attorney General Keith Ellison is ignoring our state's rule of law and Constitution. Governors cannot create laws unilaterally, especially ones that infringe on protected rights. This matter is particularly important to Chad because he also serves as police officer with the Moose Lake Police Department. When he makes arrests or cites individuals, he has a state statute behind the enforcement. But in the case of Walz' illegal shutdown, there's no law that has passed and is therefore unenforceable.

We asked Chad what he plans to do and he stated he'll fight this one to the end. Jail and fines do not deter him from doing what's right. If we allow Walz to chip away at our gun rights, we will lose far more down the road. We stand with you, Chad!

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