The Metrocrats dropped “House File 8” (HF8) this past week. The bill will institute “Universal Background Checks” for all firearms transfers in Minnesota.
The bill:
- Expands background checks to all firearms. Current law requires the for pistols and “assaault weapons”.
- Raises the age to purchase a firearm to 21.
- A permit to purchase is good for one firearm, and expires immediately. They are currently valid for a year. And you’d need to get one to possess or receive any firearm at all, and it includes transfers between private parties. We’ll come back to this part.
- A permit to carry is no longer usable as a permit to purchase or transfer.
- Chiefs of police will no longer be able to process transfers.
- All private party transfers are covered; you’ll need to get a background check. Even/especially if you’re a straw buyer!
- Getting rid of all exemptions in current law.
Anyone notice what that third bullet does?
Every legal transfer includes a background check.
For making those checks useful in tracing crime weapons, they need to keep those on record.
And in IT, we have a term for “pieces of data that contain pointers to new pieces of data”. That term is “database”. HF8 would create a registry of guns in Minnesota – or at least of the guns owned by law-abiding citizens.
This is today’s DFL.
If you’re not a member of the MN Gun Owners Caucus, you need to be.
None of these “draconian” provisions would have stopped the Sandy Hook shooting spree. Wouldn’t have stopped the Vegas shooter, either. Or the park Nightclub massacre. I guess “common sense” gun laws can’t actually stop mass shootings.
The age restriction might have stopped the Parkland shooter from buying a gun legally, I suppose, but it wouldn’t do anything about the school’s choice to mix psychopathic students in with non-psychopathic students.
Its fanciful. Ya got to think there’s numerous DFLers who won’t support it as written… it cant pass.
I had some sense the carry permit had already been disallowed as a PTP, in the last year or so.
They’re not intended to solve anything, MP. They’re, first of all, magic incantations to be invoked with no effect on the people causing all the so-called gun problems in society.
Second of all, they’re intended to annoy, hassle, and control legal and lawful gun owners and prevent them from exercising their Second Amendment right.
I’d like to see an amendment added to any bill that raises the age to purchase a firearm to 21.
Raise the minimum age to 21 for any Minnesotan to join the military.
Dave: or train for the police.
John: I hope you’re right about outstate DFLers. Hopefully people remember how many governments used firearm owner registries in the 20th century, and how criminals don’t (by definition) follow laws.
^I don’t think replacing the annual purchase permit with its BCA and DoH check with a system that does a BCA / DoH check on every transaction is something that can can get any of those needed blue dog DFL votes. Its ridiculous, and I’m not terribly worried though its of course good to be ever vigilant.
Whenever they raise the right to do something from age 18 to age 21, I then question why do we have the age of majority set at 18, if 18 years olds can’t be trusted to exercise this right. If they can’t be trusted to exercise (whatever) right at 18, why do we allow them to vote at 18? Why do we allow them to contract at 18? Why don’t we coddle them and wrap them in bubble wrap from 18 to 21?
The DFL is way behind the curve. See the article in the Federalist, “Think Progress Is Furious That A Woman Defended Herself From Armed Robbery In Chicago”.
… admittedly the Think Progress author did reverse his position and apologize, but not without singing the gun control version of “Imagine”.
as a prophylaxis against toxic masculinity it would make sense to not only raise the age to purchase a gun legally to 21, but to also raise the age for consent to sexual activity to 21, along with raising the legal age to marry to 21, that would fix so many problems.
I’d endorse raising the age to purchase a weapon to 21, when it’s tied to raising the age to vote.
Empty headed youngsters do way more damage in the voting booth.