Feds sue MN, St. Paul and Minneapolis for 'unconstitutional' firearm purchase waiting period
Public Safety Commissioner weighs in on gun laws
Bob Jacobson, the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, spoke Tuesday as Governor Tim Walz signed two executive orders to address gun violence in Minnesota.
(FOX 9) - The federal government filed a lawsuit against the State of Minnesota, the City of Minneapolis and the City of St. Paul, arguing that the state's gun purchase waiting period and permit-to-purchase requirements violate the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Minnesotans.
Federal lawsuit takes aim at Minnesota gun laws
Big picture view:
The civil complaint, filed in federal court, says the "hybrid waiting period and permit-to-purchase scheme" in Minnesota is unconstitutional.
Under Minnesota law, most residents who want to buy a handgun or a regulated rifle — which includes AR-15-style rifles — must either wait 30 days after submitting a transferee report to their local police chief or sheriff, or go through a separate permit-to-purchase process that can also take up to 30 days, according to the complaint. That permit is only valid for one year, meaning residents who want to buy a firearm for home defense face a potential 30-day delay every single year, the complaint said.
The federal government argues that more than 93% of Minnesotans — more than 5.4 million people based on the state's population of 5,830,405 — do not hold a carry permit and are therefore subject to these restrictions every time they want to purchase a firearm.
The lawsuit does not challenge public permit-to-carry laws. It focuses specifically on the right to keep a firearm in the home for self-defense, which the complaint describes as "where the need for defense of self, family, and property is most acute."
Citizens with a permit to carry are not required to obtain a permit to purchase or wait 30 days after a reported sale to acquire a handgun or regulated rifle.
Dig deeper:
According to the complaint, wait times in Minneapolis and St. Paul commonly exceed the 30-day legal limit, with some residents waiting nearly 60 days. There is also no penalty for law enforcement agencies that miss the deadline.
What they're saying:
U.S. Attorney General for the District of Minnesota Daniel Rosen shared the following statement in a news release:
"We are committed to protecting Minnesotans’ right to purchase firearms and we will not tolerate procedures that are wielded in a way that impairs that right. Law-abiding citizens do not need government permission to purchase a firearm, and forcing a citizen who has already passed a background check to wait up to sixty days to obtain a firearm is intolerable under the Constitution."
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said, "The Supreme Court held that the home is where the need for defense of self, family, and property is most acute. When a person needs to defend their home, they need to defend it now, not thirty to sixty days from now."
The other side:
The City of St. Paul, while named in the lawsuit, said it does not comment on active litigation.
The Minnesota Attorney General's Office and the City of Minneapolis have not yet responded to FOX 9's request for a statement.
The Source: This story uses information taken from a civil lawsuit filed in federal court.