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House Passes Bill To Expand Gun Laws

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- The Minnesota House has passed a bill that expands the rights of people to defend themselves if they feel they are in imminent danger.

The House passed the bill 79-50 on Saturday night.

The bill sponsored by Rep. Tony Cornish, a Good Thunder Republican and a small-town chief of police, would give a person in a home, car, tent or other dwelling the legal right to decide how much force should be required to defend oneself.

The bill has drawn the ire of gun-control advocates and is opposed by a number of chiefs of police and prosecutors around the state. A spokesman for Gov. Mark Dayton says the governor is likely to take that opposition into account.

The state Senate has not yet voted on the bill.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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