Thursday, Oct. 9 2008 @ 1:00PM

When I started working on this story, I interviewed several folks who were instrumental in the conceal carry argument back in 2003. Those interviews ended up being very helpful background, but because of limited space and the focus of the article, much from those interviews didn't end up getting used directly. Nonetheless, these folks said some interesting things about conceal carry, gun rights, and public safety in Minnesota.
Wes Skoglund, former state senator
Though Minnesota seems to have gotten tired of arguing over conceal carry, Wes Skoglund has lost none of his passion on the issue, and he still thinks the law is a terrible thing for Minnesota.
"I've spent my career trying to make Minnesota safer," he says. "I don't think there's anyone who drives down the freeway who thinks they're safer thinking the guy next to them has a pistol on the seat. I don't. If the legislature put the energy into kids that it does to guns, we'd have a much better state."