FIREARMS IN MINNESOTA 2022��CONSENSUS MEETINGS�JANUARY 2023

CONSENSUS PROCESS

• LWV Levels – Local / Regional (CMAL) / MN / US
• Each level has policy positions, not just about voting and elections

LWVMN POSITION ON FIREARMS  

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LWVMN: Support restrictions on sale, possession and use of firearms including ghost guns, ghost gun kits and any, unserialized or untraceable guns by private parties in Minnesota (1990, updated 2022)

Support:

• Licensing firearms purchasers or transferees
• Registration of firearms
• Universal background check
• Ban on assault weapons and parts
• Mandatory firearm safety training
• The concept of gun owner liability
• Stiffer and/or mandatory penalties for people who commit crimes with firearms
• Local government may regulate firearms more strictly than state

Oppose:

• Constitutional amendment granting an individual the right to bear arms

CONSENSUS PROCESS

Consensus is the process that Leagues at all levels use to arrive at policy positions.

• Members take consensus Nov 2022-Feb 2023
• Delegates approve new positions at Convention in June, 2023

OVERVIEW OF FIREARM DEATHS

INTRODUCTION

1990

• 35,000 gun deaths per year
• 2^nd Amendment applied to state militias
• Few private assault rifles
• Few permits to carry
• Gun casualties exceeded by traffic deaths

INTRODUCTION

Now

• Changes in state and federal laws
• 2^nd Amendment reinterpreted as an individual right
• Rise in threat from domestic armed militias
• Increase in mass shootings
• Guns are more versatile, accurate, deadly and cheaper

OVERVIEW OF FIREARMS VIOLENCE

• 24,292 gun suicides in 2020
• 19,384 gun homicides in 2020
• Firearms were used in 75% of homicides
• No one definition of a mass shooting

FIREARMS AND THE CONSTITUTION

• Heller decision established individual right to bear arms but not an absolute right
• McDonald v. Chicago applied Heller to state and local laws, not just federal laws and identified right to bear arms as a privilege of citizenship
• Bruen decision extended individual right to self defense in public spaces

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2nd Amendment

FEDERAL LEGISLATION SINCE 1990

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) responsible for enforcement of federal firearms laws

• Federal laws preempt state laws
• Brady Act (1993) required background check, but left loophole for unlicensed sellers

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FEDERAL LEGISLATION SINCE 1990

• Violent Crime Act banned semiautomatic weapons but expired in 2004
• Protection of Lawful Commerce Act protects gun manufacturers from civil lawsuits (2005)

MINNESOTA LEGISLATION SINCE 1990

No Minnesota city can have regulations stronger than state laws (1985)

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• MN Statute 624.713 established additional categories of persons prohibited from having guns.
• Child Access Prevention (CAP) statute makes gun owners liable if death or injury results from negligent storage (1993)

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MINNESOTA LEGISLATION SINCE 1990

• Permit to purchase needed to buy handgun or semiautomatic military-style assault weapons
• Background check completed within seven days or granted by default.
• Permit to Carry (2003) assumes eligibility unless law enforcement proves ineligibility. Took Minnesota from “may issue” to “shall issue” state.

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NEW TECHNOLOGY

• Firearms more versatile, accurate, deadly and less expensive.
• Interchangeable parts add to firearm capacity
• Ghost guns: self manufactured, no serial numbers, sold in kits or may be plastic, 3D printed at home

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LWVMN CONSENSUS TOPICS

1. Extreme risk protection orders
2. Community-based violence prevention
3. Prohibit firearms in state capitol
4. Stronger safe storage laws
5. Prohibiting those on terror watch list from purchasing/owning
6. MN licensing of firearms dealers
7. Funding for firearms research
8. Opposition to Stand Your Ground laws

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CONSENSUS QUESTION 1�

Should Minnesota enact Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) laws, also known as Red Flag laws? (Page12 of Report)

EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER

• Family or law enforcement petition court to have firearms removed
• Temporary ban on firearms possession and purchase
• Effective to prevent suicide, the most prevalent form of gun violence
• 19 states passed ERPO Laws
• 2021 and 2022 failed attempts to pass in Minnesota

EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER

PRO

• Must be approved by a judge with due process protections
• States that adopted ERPO laws have seen reduction in firearm deaths and may have prevented mass shootings.
• Effective in preventing gun violence

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EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER

CON

• May violate Bill of Rights
• 2nd Amendment right to bear arms
• 4th Amendment right against undue search and seizure
• 5th Amendment right to due process

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CONSENSUS QUESTION 1�

Should Minnesota enact Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) laws, also known as Red Flag laws? (Page12 of Report)

CONSENSUS QUESTION 2�

Should Minnesota provide funding for community-based violence intervention (CVI) programs and strategies? (Page 12 of Report)

COMMUNITY-BASED VIOLENCE INTERVENTION (CVI)

• $153-$173 billion/year US cost of gun violence
• CVI uses community outreach to disrupt violence cycles in areas of most need
• Street outreach workers create social pressure
• Provides support and training
• Provides social services
• Hospital-based appeals to victims and family to lessen retaliation

COMMUNITY-BASED VIOLENCE INTERVENTION (CVI)

• Some large cities in MN already using with mixed results.
• Brooklyn Park reported fewer calls
• Minneapolis had fewer homicides using several programs

COMMUNITY-BASED VIOLENCE INTERVENTION (CVI)

PRO

• MN benefits from evidence-based research on effective CVI
• Police would have support from other social service groups

COMMUNITY-BASED VIOLENCE INTERVENTION (CVI)

CON

• Additional funding needed
• High costs upfront
• Determining which approach to use, CVI or law enforcement, can be difficult and controversial

CONSENSUS QUESTION 2�

Should Minnesota provide funding for community-based violence intervention (CVI) programs and strategies? (Page 12 of Report)

CONSENSUS QUESTION 3�

Should Minnesota restrict the presence of firearms from the state capitol building? (Page 14 of Report)

FIREARMS IN THE CAPITOL

• While stick handles for signs are deemed dangerous and are banned from the MN capitol, any individual with a valid permit to carry may bring a handgun inside with no prior notice, screening or sign-in required.
• The number of handgun permits have skyrocketed during a time when violent rhetoric and demonstrations have increased.
• The Giffords Law Center tracked over 50 instances since 2020 of armed protesters using firearms to chill free speech and harass and intimidate legislators

FIREARMS IN THE CAPITOL

• Some states don’t allow for open carrying of firearms in their capitol because it can chill debate.
• Minnesota law allows those with a permit to carry a firearm to carry it in any public space that is not a restricted government building, so this question refers to the Capitol buildings only.

FIREARMS IN THE CAPITOL

PRO

• Firearms can intimidate witnesses and legislators
• If sticks are dangerous, guns should be considered dangerous
• Capitol often has crowds which could be a setting for a mass shooting

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FIREARMS IN THE CAPITOL

CON

• Firearms could protect people
• Carrying firearms is our 2^nd Amendment right

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CONSENSUS QUESTION 3�

Should Minnesota restrict the presence of firearms from the state capitol building? (Page 14 of Report)

CONSENSUS QUESTION 4�

Should Minnesota adopt stronger safe firearms storage laws? (Page 15 of Report)

SAFE STORAGE

• MN Child Access Prevention (CAP) law has penalty for unsecured firearms
• Safe storage laws require owners to store firearms in specified ways. Six states require this.
• Effective against suicide, unintentional shootings, stolen guns

SAFE STORAGE

PRO

• Effective to prevent suicides and homicides
• Effective to prevent child access to firearms

SAFE STORAGE

• CON
• There’s no way to enforce what happens in people’s homes
• We already have Child Access Prevention (CAP) law
• Inconvenient to access guns when needed

CONSENSUS QUESTION 4�

Should Minnesota adopt stronger safe firearms storage laws? (Page 15 of Report)

CONSENSUS QUESTION 5�

Should Minnesota add those on the terror watch list to the prohibited purchaser category? (Page 15 of Report)

PROHIBIT THOSE ON TERROR WATCH LIST

PRO

• On September 2021, FBI Director testified “domestic terrorism caseload has exploded and poses the greatest threat to national security
• Those on the terror watch list are free to buy and own unlimited firearms in the U.S.
• Large percentage of individuals on the watch list have cleared background checks and received approval to buy
• Minnesota has eleven statewide hate groups. Three terror incidents tied to militia movements in Minnesota

PROHIBIT THOSE ON TERROR WATCH LIST

CON

• This would be a violation of the 2^nd Amendment right to own guns.
• A violation of the 5th Amendment right to due process. Those on the terrorist watch list have no opportunity to contest their inclusion in court.
• Guilty by association. List is secret. No due process.
• There could be unfair profiling of religious, racial or other ethnic groups.
• The terror watch list may have multiple errors. 

CONSENSUS QUESTION 5�

Should Minnesota add those on the terror watch list to the prohibited purchaser category? (Page 15 of Report)

CONSENSUS QUESTION 6�

Should Minnesota require state licensing of firearm dealers? (Page 17 of Report)

STATE LICENSING OF DEALERS

• Minnesota does not have a state licensing system for dealers, but it does mandate certain security measures for places of business selling firearms.
• 9 states and DC require state (or district) licensing of firearms dealer
• 7 more states require state licenses for the sale of handguns and certain kinds of firearms.

STATE LICENSING OF DEALERS

• Federal law requires persons dealing in firearms be licensed by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
• Penalty for dealing without a license is five years prison, a fine up to $250,000, or both. (Not all sales require a license).
• Resource limitations prevents ATF from properly overseeing all its licensees. Giffords Law Center reports dealers inspected only once a decade.
• Federal license needed to deal firearms with profit motive. Occasional sales, from personal collection, do not need license.

STATE LICENSING OF DEALERS

PRO

• There would be stricter certification process
• Routine inspections and annual accountability for inventory
• Background checks for all employees, not just the dealer liability insurance
• Security measures such as surveillance cameras, safe storage, and alarm systems could be enforced.

STATE LICENSING OF DEALERS

CON

• More costs for state to administer and oversee
• More costs for dealers to pay license fee both places
• There might still be ways to get around law

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CONSENSUS QUESTION 6�

Should Minnesota require state licensing of firearm dealers? (Page 17 of Report)

CONSENSUS QUESTION 7�

Should Minnesota fund firearm violence research? (Page 18 of Report)

FIREARM VIOLENCE RESEARCH

• Public policy needs to be based on research
• Dickey Amendment chilled gun research for 23 years leaving void in research
• More research would help understand root causes and potential solutions to gun violence
• Funding would support research to develop evidence-based solutions to gun violence epidemic

FIREARM VIOLENCE RESEARCH

PRO

• MN doesn’t have adequate database to see how we could reduce gun violence
• Locally collected data would aid public policy decisions
• Local level is better for collecting data
• MN would develop rich database

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FIREARM VIOLENCE RESEARCH

CON

• Research is costly
• Research would be better done at Federal level

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CONSENSUS QUESTION 7�

Should Minnesota fund firearm violence research? (Page 18 of Report)

CONSENSUS QUESTION 8�

Should Minnesota oppose passage of a Stand-Your-Ground law? (Page 19 of Report)

TYPES OF SELF-DEFENSE LAWS

1. Stand Your Ground: No duty to retreat from the situation before resorting to deadly force; not limited to your home, place of work, etc.

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• Castle Doctrine: “A man’s home is his castle.” No duty to retreat before using deadly force if you are in your home or yard (some states include a place of work and occupied vehicles)

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• Duty to Retreat: Duty to retreat from a threatening situation if you can do so with complete safety

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• Minnesota follows the Castle Doctrine. Minnesota courts have decided that a person should not be required to retreat from his or her own home.
• Outside of one’s home, Minnesota law imposes a “duty to retreat,” which means that if a person feels threatened, he or she may only use deadly force as a last resort.

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STAND YOUR GROUND LAW BY US JURISDICTION

38 states are stand-your-ground states, 30 by statutes and 8 by case law/precedent or jury instructions

12 states impose a duty to retreat when one can do so with absolute safety

PRO CONSENSUS QUESTION:�(OPPOSE “STAND YOUR GROUND” LAWS)

• Because citizens can use deadly force when they “reasonably perceive” a threat, whether or not that threat ultimately turns out to be genuine, these laws are sometimes called "shoot first” or “get away with murder” laws. 
• “Stand your ground” laws require untrained civilians to make difficult, stressful decisions about using deadly force against an attacker.
• Even though these laws are made to help citizens defend themselves, some studies show that these laws may increase murder rates.  
• According to one study, “stand your ground” laws are enforced differently based on the race of the shooter and victim.

CON CONSENSUS QUESTION:�(FAVOR “STAND YOUR GROUND” LAWS)

• Residents have a right to defend themselves from attack anywhere.
• Empowering citizens to defend themselves with lethal force may deter criminals. Police cannot be everywhere, and criminals may think twice about threatening a victim if they can fight back.
• The law should clearly defend the right of a victim to self-defense, so in a life-threatening situation a victim does not hesitate or wonder if they are acting within the law.
• “Stand your ground” laws strongly shield the victim of a crime from liability, meaning they cannot be sued by their criminal attacker.

CONSENSUS QUESTION 8�

Should Minnesota oppose passage of a Stand-Your-Ground law? (Page 19 of Report)