Obama Campaigns For Gun Control In Minnesota

Obama's off to Minnesota today to campaign for his gun control proposals there. According to AP, "His visit to the Minneapolis Police Department's Special Operations Center will mark the first time Obama has campaigned on his controversial proposals outside of Washington.

Why Minnesota? AP points out that it's a blue state where people have been studying ways to reduce gun violence for some time.

In recent years, Republicans in the Minnesota legislature have worked to expand gun rights, according to MinnPost. But Democrats now control both houses of the legislature and the governor's office.

Meanwhile, in DC, the Senate is getting ready to move on its own gun control bill.

According to an aide to Sen. Harry Reid (D- Nev.), via the Wall Street Journal, there's "a growing sense within Democratic ranks that some of the president's most ambitious goals--particularly the call for new bans on certain types of military-style guns often described as assault weapons--may be unrealistic."

Reid, the Senate Majority Leader, is seen as a strong gun-rights supporter, and has criticized the idea of an assault weapons ban in the past.