Tom Hackbarth reloads with gun-rights amendment

Tom Hackbarth exercises his Second Amendment rights.

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So it only makes sense, really, that he'd want to ensure that his right to keep and bear arms should be enshrined in the Minnesota Constitution. The Second Amendment isn't enough for this guy.

Here's what he wants to ask voters:

Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to provide that the right of a citizen to keep, bear, and use arms for the defense and security of the person, family, or home, or for lawful hunting, recreation, or marksmanship training is fundamental and shall not be infringed?

Maybe he's got a chip on his shoulder. St. Paul police confiscated his Smith & Wesson back in November after a run-in behind the Planned Parenthood clinic in Highland Park. A security guard watching him park his pickup truck in the clinic lot saw the gun, and called the cops. Hackbarth argued with the officers, giving them a story about looking for a lady he'd met online.

He wasn't charged, and since he has a permit to carry his pistol, he got it back. But the whole embarrassing episode cost Hackbarth a powerful committee leadership post, and brought a public spanking from House Speaker Kurt Zellers.