We’ve been closely watching and reporting on several punitive gun-control proposals in the Minnesota legislature, including several from Gov. Tim Walz. Of course, the worst of them was a proposal that would have banned many semi-automatic firearms in common use by lawful Minnesotans and another that would have banned the normal-capacity magazines that those common firearms use.
Following committee votes on February 24 and 25, however, many of the measures have stalled in committee. And there’s a better-than-even chance that they won’t receive further consideration this session.
Among those stalled was HF 3433, which would have banned commonly owned gas-operated semi-automatic firearms, a direct infringement on the Second Amendment. Under the measure, anyone who lawfully possessed a banned firearm would have been required to register it with the state before May 1, 2027, and then adhere to very restrictive mandatory storage requirements afterward.
Another measure that has stalled in committee is HF 3402. Equally as egregious as HF 3433, this proposal would set arbitrary magazine capacity restrictions and does not include a grandfather clause. Any magazine capable of holding more than 10 rounds would have to be moved out of state, modified, destroyed or surrendered to law enforcement.
Likewise, a measure to repeal Minnesota’s statewide firearms preemption law has also stalled. HF 3351 would allow local governments to implement whatever laws they wished, leaving lawful citizens easy prey to being caught up in a patchwork of different laws as they travel the state.
While a ban on so-called “assault weapons” and “high-capacity magazines” would be devastating on state gun owners, repealing the state’s preemption law might have been even worse. State firearms preemption laws are critically important to lawful gun owners; that’s why more than 40 states have such laws on the books. In a nutshell, these laws prohibit local jurisdictions from imposing gun-control restrictions that are more severe than state law.
This push is being made by the mayors of Minnesota’s four largest cities—St. Paul, Minneapolis, Rochester and Bloomington—who have all drafted control ordinances, despite the state’s strong preemption law that would nullify their ordinances. If they were get the repeal approved by the legislature, those cities would immediately institute bans on common semi-autos and mags over 10 rounds, without having to wait for the state legislature to pass such restrictions.
The deluge of anti-gun legislation this session is a direct result of an incident last August where a young trans man, who had legally changed his name to a woman’s name, killed two and injured 17 others at the Church of Annunciation. Ever since the attack, gun-ban advocates in the state have been pushing for new laws, and Democrat lawmakers have assisted in the effort.
The bills’ stalling comes after Gov. Walz tried to call a special session of the legislature to pass gun-ban legislation. However, Republicans in the state House and Senate pushed back until Walz realized the idea would be an effort in futility.
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