Tragically, the 8th person to be killed by the Hiawatha light rail line since its opening in 2004 lost his life this past Saturday night. It's still unclear how the incident took place, but the fact remains that 8 people have lost their lives to light rail.
Joe Soucheray mentioned on his show this past week that the light rail train has been responsible for more deaths than the conceal and carry law that was passed in 2003. From what I can tell, after doing a bit of research (including reading the lengthy Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension 2006 report), there has been 1 death caused by an individual legally carrying a firearm.
I remember when the law was passed, many of the people who were against the conceal and carry law (which isn't actually a "conceal" and carry law) insisted that Minnesota would turn into an old west style town, where people would be shooting each other over common disagreements and for better parking spots. That, of course, hasn't happened. In fact, it would appear Minnesotans are far more likely to be killed by a light rail train than by someone legally carrying a firearm.
Don't get me wrong: any death caused by either light rail or by a gun is a tragedy, but it seems the hysteria over the conceal and carry law has been unfounded.
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