MN Capitol Sees Spike in Gun Notices

ST. PAUL (AP) - An ongoing debate over gun control by Minnesota state lawmakers has been accompanied by a spike in notifications to the state Department of Public Safety from people who plan to carry loaded weapons into the Capitol.

DPS says Friday that 150 people made that notification to the agency between Jan. 18 and Feb. 22. By contrast, only 56 people did so in all of 2012.

Hundreds of pro-gun activists have streamed into House and Senate hearings on gun control, and a few have openly worn guns. Anthony Triemert of Brooklyn Park says Friday at a Senate hearing that he wears his gun everywhere for personal safety, and saw no reason not to at the Capitol.

Senator Barb Goodwin of Columbia Heights, a gun control supporter, says she thinks guns are inappropriate at the Capitol but that being nervous hasn't made her temper her comments.

(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)