Legislators are not “thinking independently,” Rep. Eric Lucero said in a recent interview as he reflected on this year’s legislative session.
“Unfortunately, there are too many legislators that are thinking for the immediate, having an immediate knee-jerk reaction, an emotional reaction, to something that might be occurring,” noted Lucero, a Republican from St. Michael, in an interview with Alpha News’ Kyle Hooten.
Lucero said he has had many conversations with constituents on the Second Amendment after the mass shooting in Texas last month. He said he got phone calls and emails of “scripted responses” before any details were released on the perpetrator.
“That tells me … unfortunately there are those out there that will have no reservation using tragedy to advance their political agenda,” he said.
Democrats have a “sick focus” on the gun itself rather than on the person committing the “evil,” and laws being pushed by Democrats would only punish law-abiding citizens, according to Lucero.
In Minnesota, Democratic politicians are pushing for universal background checks and red-flag legislation, two laws that would hinder the rights of Minnesotans. This proves the left’s aim is not for “truth or facts.”
“It’s about hatred for guns,” Lucero said.
“We need to figure out what we can do to stop evil before it happens, before such tragedies happen, and that is not being done with more government control on law-abiding citizens,” he added.
Too many legislators act on their emotions, which is problematic for Lucero.
“Good policy is never the product of an emotional reaction,” he said. “Unintended consequences” can occur and cannot be easily reversed when laws are in place.
He said he believes a major contributor to tragedies like the shootings that have occurred is society’s “devaluing of life.”
“Is life precious from conception to natural death?” Lucero asked, stating that many people now believe certain age groups, “whether it be in the womb or on the other end of the spectrum,” do not contribute to society, and therefore think less of those groups.
“The left wants to say the collective is more important [than the individual], and the collective can then infringe on the rights of any individual if it’s for the ‘good of the whole,’” he said.
Lucero also discussed taxes and inflation, saying he hopes Republicans in Minnesota can offer $8 billion, the surplus at the end of this year’s session, in tax cuts next year.
“The fact is we just need to allow people to keep their money, and we need to do so by enacting deep, permanent tax cuts,” especially at a time when inflation is so high as a result of “government mismanagement,” he said.
Rose Williams
Rose Williams is an assistant editor for Alpha News.
