Minnesota: Senate Committee to Vote on Gun Bills this Week

On Thursday and Friday, the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee will be holding hearings to vote on numerous gun control bills. Please contact committee members now and ask them to OPPOSE ALL anti-gun measures that place further burdens on law-abiding gun owners and sportsmen!

Senate File 1116 prohibits private transfers of handguns, and many semi-automatic long guns, unless the recipient has a transfer permit. It also requires both parties of a transfer to fill out and maintain transfer reports for up to twenty years and present them upon demand by law enforcement. In addition, it allows law enforcement to deny transfer permits and permits to carry based on arbitrary criteria without due process of law. SF 1116 is on the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee schedule tomorrow, March 23.

Senate File 1117 allows the seizure of an individual’s firearms on baseless accusations, without a hearing or other opportunity for the evidence to be heard in court. They permit the government to seize firearms based on weak and nebulous standards of evidence. Civil liberties advocates from across the political spectrum have expressed concerns about these “red flag” bills and how the procedure might lead to abuses because of insufficient due process protections in the bills. SF 1117 is on the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee schedule tomorrow, March 23.

Senate File 2909 is a large anti-gun package requested by Governor Tim Walz. It bans commonly-owned ammunition magazines with capacities greater than ten rounds for rifles and fifteen rounds for handguns, discriminates against adults aged 18-20 by depriving them of their Second Amendment rights, and further victimizes gun owners who suffer loss or theft of their property if they fail to follow one-size-fits-all reporting requirements. In addition, it also contains the provisions of SF 1116 and SF 1117 above. SF 2909 is on the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee schedule Friday, March 24.

Again, please contact committee members and ask them to OPPOSE these schemes.