Minnesota

Summary of State Firearms Law

Last updated September 9, 2010.

Overview

In the publication Gun Laws Matter: A Comparison of State Firearms Laws and Statistics, LCAV ranked each state based on a review of state laws in 25 different firearms-related policy areas.  Minnesota ranked 15th out of 50 – having fairly strong gun laws and a low gun death rate.  Among other things, Minnesota:

• Regulates unsafe handguns;

• Imposes child access prevention requirements upon gun owners;

• Generally prohibits the open carrying of rifles and shotguns in public; and

• Provides some regulation of the possession and sale of certain "semiautomatic military-style assault weapons," although the state does not generally ban assault weapons.  

Minnesota does not, however:

• License or otherwise regulate firearms dealers;

• Require firearm owners to register their firearms;

• Require that gun owners obtain a license;

• Require a background check prior to the transfer of a firearm between private parties;

• Prohibit the transfer or possession of 50 caliber rifles or large capacity ammunition magazines; or

• Limit the number of firearms that may be purchased at one time.

Local governments in Minnesota generally lack authority to regulate firearms or ammunition and Minnesota requires the county sheriff to issue a permit to carry a handgun to any applicant who meets certain basic qualifications.

Statistics

Gun Deaths in Minnesota

Minnesota ranks 41st among the states in number of gun deaths per capita.  In 2006, 344 people died from firearm-related injuries in Minnesota.¹

Crime Guns from Minnesota

Mayors Against Illegal Guns recently developed web pages detailing data about each state’s crime gun imports and exports. Compared with other states, in 2009, Minnesota supplied the sixth lowest number of crime guns to other states per capita. Minnesota imports more crime guns than it exports.²

Number of Federally Licensed Firearms Dealers in Minnesota

There are 1,398 federally licensed firearms dealers and pawnbrokers in Minnesota.³

State "Right to Bear Arms"

The Minnesota Constitution provides for the keeping and bearing of arms, but permits broad firearm-related regulation for public health and safety purposes.  See LCAV’s State Right to Bear Arms Provisions for more-detailed information.

Local Authority to Regulate Firearms

Minnesota has preempted most areas of local firearms regulation. See State Preemption/Local Authority to Regulate Firearms summary for further information.

State Firearms Policies

Please note that many firearm-related laws have exceptions for military and law enforcement personnel.

Note also that Minnesota statutes use the word “pistol” when referring generally to handguns.⁴ To avoid confusion, we use the word "handgun" in this summary.

Persons Prohibited from Firearm Possession

Prohibited Purchasers Generally

Federal law prohibits certain persons from purchasing or possessing firearms, such as felons, certain domestic abusers, and certain people with a history of mental illness.

Minnesota prohibits firearm possession by a person who:

• Has been convicted of, or adjudicated delinquent or convicted as an extended jurisdiction juvenile for committing a crime of violence in Minnesota or a crime in any other jurisdiction that would be a crime of violence if committed in Minnesota;⁵

• Is, or has ever been, committed to a treatment facility as a person who is mentally ill, mentally retarded or mentally ill and dangerous to the public, or who has ever been found incompetent to stand trial or not guilty by reason of mental illness, unless the person’s eligibility to possess a firearm has been restored;⁶

• Has been convicted of any misdemeanor (or a specific Minnesota “gross misdemeanor”) drug law, within the past three years, or who is or has ever been committed for treatment for the habitual use of a controlled substance or marijuana, unless the person’s eligibility to possess a firearm has been restored;⁷

• Has been committed to a treatment facility as chemically dependent unless the person has completed treatment or the person’s eligibility to possess a firearm has been restored;⁸

• Is a peace officer and is informally admitted to a treatment facility for chemical dependency unless the officer possesses a certificate from the head of the treatment facility discharging the officer from the facility;⁹

• Has been charged with committing a crime of violence and has been placed in a pretrial diversion program by the court before disposition, until the person has completed the diversion program and the charge of committing the crime of violence has been dismissed;¹⁰

• Has been convicted in another state of committing an assault against a family or household member using a firearm within the past three years;¹¹

• Has been convicted of assaulting a family or household member and was found by a court to have used a firearm in any way during the assault (the court determines the prohibitive period for this violation);¹²

• Has been convicted by any court of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year;¹³

• Is a fugitive from justice;¹⁴

• Is an unlawful user of a controlled substance;¹⁵

• Has been judicially committed to a treatment facility as a person who is mentally ill, developmentally disabled, or mentally ill and dangerous to the public;¹⁶

• Is an illegal alien;¹⁷

• Was dishonorably discharged from the U.S. armed forces;¹⁸

• Has renounced his or her U.S. citizenship;¹⁹ or

• Has been convicted of the following crimes at the gross misdemeanor level during the past three years:²⁰

• Crimes committed for the benefit of a gang;²¹

• Assaults motivated by bias;²²

• False imprisonment;²³

• Neglect or endangerment of a child;²⁴

• Burglary in the fourth degree;²⁵

• Setting a spring gun;²⁶

• Riot;²⁷ or

• Stalking.²⁸

A person presently charged with a crime punishable by imprisonment for more than one year is not entitled to receive any handgun or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon.²⁹ In addition, persons under age 18 may not generally possess a handgun or a semiautomatic military-style assault weapon.³⁰ See the Minnesota Minimum Age to Purchase/Possess section for details.

Other provisions of Minnesota law prohibit firearm possession by a person who:

• Has been convicted of a stalking crime and used a firearm in the commission of that crime;³¹

• Has been convicted of violating an order for protection and used a firearm during that violation (prohibiting the person from possessing a firearm from three years to the remainder of the person’s life, if so ordered by the convicting court);³² or

• Is a nonresident alien, except to take game as a nonresident under the game and fish laws.³³

Other provisions of Minnesota law prohibit possession of a handgun by a person who:

• Has been convicted of violating an order for protection within the previous three years;³⁴

• Has been convicted of assault in the fifth degree within three years of a previous assault conviction;³⁵ or

• Has been convicted of assault against a family or household member within the previous three years (whether or not a firearm was used).³⁶

A sheriff or police chief in Minnesota may refuse to grant a transferee permit or notify a dealer that the transferee is ineligible for the transfer of a handgun or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon only if an applicant’s background check shows that the prospective transferee is prohibited by Minnesota Statues § 624.713 from possessing a firearm.³⁷

The state, by regulation, prohibits offenders on parole or supervised release from purchasing, obtaining or possessing firearms.³⁸

Predatory offenders who are required to register under state law³⁹ are prohibited from carrying a handgun whether or not they possess a permit to carry a handgun.⁴⁰ For information on the background check process used to enforce these provisions, see the Minnesota Background Checks section. Firearm transfers by private sellers (non-firearms dealers) are not subject to background checks in Minnesota, although federal and state purchaser prohibitions still apply. See the Minnesota Private Sales section.

See Regulating Guns in America:  Prohibited Purchasers for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Minimum Age to Purchase / Possess

Minnesota prohibits the possession of handguns or semiautomatic military-style assault weapons by persons who are under age 18. Under state law, such persons may carry or possess a semiautomatic military-style assault weapon or handgun in the actual presence or under the direct supervision of a parent or guardian.⁴¹

The state prohibits a federally licensed firearm dealer from transferring a handgun or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon to a person under age 18 without complying with certain background check requirements.⁴²

Minnesota prohibits a person under age 16 from possessing a firearm without being accompanied by a parent or guardian,⁴³ and provides that a parent or guardian may not knowingly direct, allow or permit a person under age 16 to possess a firearm, unless this person is:

• Accompanied by a parent or guardian;

• On land owned by, or occupied as the principal residence of, the person or the person’s parent or guardian;

• Participating in an organized target shooting program with adult supervision;

• Participating in a firearms safety program or traveling to and from class; or

• Age 14 or 15 and has a firearms safety certificate.⁴⁴

Minnesota prohibits:

• Outside a municipality, furnishing a child under 14 years of age with a firearm, airgun or ammunition without the consent of the child’s parent or guardian;⁴⁵

• Outside a municipality, for a parent or guardian to allow a child under 14 years of age to handle or use a firearm, airgun or ammunition outside the presence of the parent or guardian;⁴⁶ or

• In a municipality, furnishing a minor under age 18 with a firearm, airgun or ammunition without the consent of the minor’s parent or guardian, or the municipal police department.⁴⁷

See Regulating Guns in America:  Minimum Age to Purchase / Possess Firearms for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Domestic Violence & Firearms

Firearm Prohibitions for Domestic Violence Misdemeanants

Minnesota prohibits the possession of a firearm by a person who:

• Has been convicted of a stalking crime and used a firearm in the commission of that crime;⁴⁸

• Has been convicted in another state of committing an assault against a family or household member using a firearm within the past three years;⁴⁹ 

• Has been convicted of assaulting a family or household member only if  a court finds that the person used a firearm in any way during the assault (the court determines the prohibitive period for this violation); or⁵⁰

• Has been convicted of violating an order of protection and used a firearm during that violation (prohibiting the person from possessing a firearm from three years to the remainder of the person’s life, if so ordered by the convicting court).⁵¹

Minnesota prohibits possession of a handgun by a person who:

• Has been convicted of a stalking crime (prohibition lasts three years);⁵²

• Has been convicted of violating an order for protection within the previous three years;⁵³

• Has been convicted of assault in the fifth degree within three years of a previous assault conviction;⁵⁴ or

• Has been convicted of assault against a family or household member within the previous three years (whether or not a firearm was used).⁵⁵

Federal law prohibits an overlapping set of domestic violence misdemeanants from possessing firearms.

Firearm Prohibitions for Persons Subject to Domestic Violence Restraining/Protective Orders

Unlike federal law, Minnesota does not explicitly prohibit the purchase or possession of firearms by any person subject to domestic violence orders for protection.  Minnesota authorizes courts reviewing domestic abuse cases to include in a protective order any appropriate injunctive relief, which may include prohibitions on the purchase or possession of firearms.⁵⁶

Removal or Surrender of Firearms from Domestic Abusers

Any person who has been arrested for domestic abuse, harassment, violation of an order for protection, or violation of a domestic abuse no contact order and released by the court pending subsequent judicial proceedings may be prohibited from possessing firearms by court order.⁵⁷

A person violating an order of protection against him or her who owns or possesses a firearm and uses it during the commission of the violation must forfeit the firearm.⁵⁸ Moreover, a person convicted of a domestic assault upon a family or household member where the person owns or possesses the firearm and used it during the commission of the assault must forfeit the firearm.⁵⁹ Minnesota does not otherwise require the surrender of firearms or ammunition by domestic abusers who have become prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law.

Minnesota law also does not: 1) require courts to notify domestic abusers when they become prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law; or 2) explicitly authorize or require the removal of firearms or ammunition at the scene of a domestic violence incident.

See Regulating Guns in America:  Domestic Violence and Firearms for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Disarming Prohibited Persons

Defendants in Cases of Crimes Against the Person

For the release of a defendant pending trial or hearing in cases involving crimes against the person, a judge may order as a condition of release that the person surrender to local law enforcement any firearms owned or possessed by the person, and the defendant may not live in a residence where others possess firearms.⁶⁰

Any firearm surrendered will be inventoried and retained by local law enforcement and must be returned to the owner upon his or her acquittal, when charges are dismissed, or if no charges are filed. If the gun owner is convicted, the firearm must be returned when the court orders the return or when the person is discharged from probation and has his or her civil rights restored.⁶¹

See the Minnesota Domestic Violence & Firearms section above for information about disarming domestic abusers.

Sales & Transfers

Background Checks

Federal law requires federally licensed firearms dealers (but not private sellers) to initiate a background check on the purchaser prior to sale of a firearm. Federal law provides states with the option of serving as a state “point of contact” and conducting their own background checks using state, as well as federal, records and databases, or having the checks performed by the FBI using only the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (“NICS”) database. (Note that state files are not always included in the federal database.)

Minnesota is not a point of contact state for firearm purchaser background checks.  In Minnesota, firearms dealers must initiate the background check required by federal law by contacting the FBI directly.

State law requires local law enforcement to perform an additional background check in certain situations.  With certain exceptions, if a person wishes to acquire a handgun or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon from a federally licensed dealer but does not have a transferee permit (which allows the person to acquire a handgun or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon) or a permit to carry a handgun, state law requires the dealer to file a report with the local police chief or sheriff, who then performs a background check.⁶²

Local law enforcement also must conduct a background check whenever a person applies for a transferee permit or a permit to carry a handgun.⁶³ When performing a background check under any of these provisions, the chief of police or sheriff is required to check criminal histories, records and warrant information relating to the applicant through the Minnesota Crime Information System and any national criminal record repository (including NICS), and commitment information through the state Commissioner of Human Services.⁶⁴

Minnesota does not require private sellers (sellers who are not licensed dealers) to initiate a background check when transferring a firearm.  See Regulating Guns in America:  Private Sales.

See Regulating Guns in America:  Background Checks for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Mental Health Reporting

Federal law prohibits possession of a firearm or ammunition by any person who has been “adjudicated as a mental defective” or involuntarily “committed to any mental institution.”⁶⁵ No federal law, however, requires states to report the identities of these individuals to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (“NICS”) database, which the FBI uses to perform background checks prior to firearm transfers.

Minnesota collects mental health records for the limited purpose of conducting background checks in connection with certain in-state firearm transfers.  The Minnesota Commissioner of Human Services receives a copy of any commitment order through the state’s supreme court information system whenever a patient is committed to a state-operated mental health facility, or to a treatment program or facility other than a state-operated program or facility.  The Commissioner must provide commitment information to local law enforcement agencies by means of electronic data transfer through the Minnesota Crime Information System when individually requested for the sole purpose of facilitating a background check for purchasers of handguns or assault weapons.⁶⁶  A person seeking a transferee permit to purchase a handgun or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon must authorize the release of mental health information for this purpose.⁶⁷

When a court commits a patient to a treatment program or facility other than a state-operated program or facility, the court shall report the commitment to the Commissioner through the supreme court information system for purposes of providing commitment information for firearm background checks.⁶⁸

When a court: 1) commits a person under state law as being mentally ill, developmentally disabled, mentally ill and dangerous, or chemically dependent; 2) determines in a criminal case that a person is incompetent to stand trial or not guilty by reason of mental illness; or 3) restores a person's ability to possess a firearm under state law, the court must ensure that this information is transmitted as soon as practicable to NICS.⁶⁹

For general information on the background check process and categories of prohibited purchasers or possessors, see the Minnesota Background Checks section and the section entitled Minnesota Prohibited Purchasers Generally.

See Regulating Guns in America:  Mental Health Reporting for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Multiple Purchases / Sales of Firearms

Minnesota has no law restricting sales or purchases of multiple firearms. Minnesota law affirmatively provides that the transfer of any number of handguns or semiautomatic military-style assault weapons may be treated as a single transfer for purposes of the state background check requirement and that nothing in the Minnesota laws regarding transferee permits and transfers when the transferee does not have a permit limits or restricts the number of such weapons a person may acquire.⁷⁰

See Regulating Guns in America:  Restrictions on Multiple Purchases or Sales of Firearms for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Retention of Sales / Background Check Records

With certain exceptions, if a person wishes to acquire a handgun or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon from a federally licensed dealer but does not have a transferee permit (which allows the person to acquire a handgun or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon) or a permit to carry a handgun, Minnesota law requires the dealer to file a report with the local police chief or sheriff, who then performs a background check.⁷¹  Minnesota does not require firearm sellers to retain information about firearm sales or report such sales to a centralized state agency.  All data pertaining to the purchase or transfer of firearms which are collected by state agencies, political subdivisions or statewide systems pursuant to Minnesota Statutes §§ 624.712 to 624.719 (governing firearm transfers, possession and carrying) are classified as "private."⁷² Thus, this data is not available to the public, but is accessible to the subject of the data.⁷³

See Regulating Guns in America:  Retention of Firearm Sales and Background Check Records for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Waiting Periods

With certain limited exceptions, if a person wishes to acquire a handgun or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon from a federally licensed firearms dealer in Minnesota, but does not have a transferee permit or a permit to carry, then the dealer must file a report with the chief of police or sheriff.⁷⁴  A seven-day waiting period applies to such transfers.⁷⁵ By the terms of Minnesota law, the dealer may not transfer the firearm for an approved transfer until five business days have elapsed since the transfer report was delivered to law enforcement, unless the chief of police or sheriff waives all or a portion of the seven day waiting period.⁷⁶  The police chief or sheriff may waive part of the waiting period in writing if he or she finds that the transferee requires access to a handgun or assault weapon because of a threat to the life of the transferee or a member of the transferee's household.⁷⁷ 
The waiting period requirement does not apply to transfers by private sellers (non-firearms dealers).⁷⁸

See Regulating Guns in America:  Waiting Periods for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Gun Dealers & Other Sellers

Dealer Regulations

Federal law requires firearms dealers to obtain a license from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), although resource limitations prevent the ATF from properly overseeing all its licensees.

Minnesota does not license firearms dealers. However, firearms dealers are subject to state laws governing gun sales generally. See the Minnesota Private Sales section for further information. Pursuant to the Brady Act, federally licensed firearms dealers must conduct background checks on prospective purchasers each time the dealer transfers a firearm. See the Minnesota Background Checks section.

Minnesota requires small firearms dealers (dealers displaying 50 handguns or less for sale at a time) to secure all handguns in a locked safe, locked steel gun cabinet or on a locked, steel cable that runs through the handgun's trigger guards, after business hours.⁷⁹ The safe, gun cabinet, or cable must be anchored to prevent its removal from the premises.⁸⁰

In addition, the Commissioner of Public Safety is required to adopt standards for minimum security requirements for all firearms dealers.⁸¹ The standards may provide for:

• Alarm systems for all firearms dealers;

• Necessary and effective security measures required for large firearms dealers (dealers displaying more than 50 handguns for sale at any time);

• A system of inspections, during normal business hours, by local law enforcement for compliance with the standards; and

• Other reasonable requirements necessary and effective to reduce the risk of burglaries at firearms dealers' business establishments.⁸²

The Commissioner has issued firearms dealer security standards that describe the required alarm system and other mandatory security features, prescribe the manner in which handguns may be stored, and require the availability of the business for inspection by local law enforcement.⁸³ A firearms dealer may request an exemption from these requirements.⁸⁴

Minnesota requires federally licensed firearms dealers to post signs conspicuously on their premises with the following warning: "IT IS UNLAWFUL TO STORE OR LEAVE A LOADED FIREARM WHERE A CHILD CAN OBTAIN ACCESS."⁸⁵

With certain limited exceptions, if a federally licensed firearms dealer wishes to transfer a handgun or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon to a transferee who does not have a transferee permit or a permit to carry, the dealer must file a report with the police chief or sheriff.⁸⁶  The dealer may not transfer the firearm unless five business days have elapsed since the report was delivered to law enforcement. The police chief or sheriff may waive all or part of the waiting period in writing if he or she finds that the transferee requires access to a handgun or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon because of a threat to the life of the transferee or any member of the transferee's household.⁸⁷

Minnesota prohibits federally licensed dealers from selling a “Saturday Night Special Pistol.”⁸⁸ See the Minnesota Design Safety Standards for Handguns section.

For laws requiring dealers to conduct a background check on prospective firearm purchasers, see the Minnesota Background Checks section.

See Regulating Guns in America:  Dealer Regulations for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Private Sales

Transfers to persons other than federally licensed firearms dealers are not subject to the requirements of Minnesota Statutes § 624.7132, including the requirement that the transferor file a transfer report with the local police chief or sheriff, and that the police chief or sheriff conduct a background check.⁸⁹ However, a person commits a gross misdemeanor if he or she intentionally transfers a handgun or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon to a person he or she knows:

• Has been denied a permit to carry a weapon because he or she is not eligible under state law to possess a handgun or assault weapon;

• Has been found ineligible to possess a handgun or assault weapon by law enforcement as a result of an application for a transferee permit or state background check; or

• Is ineligible to possess a handgun or assault weapon under state law.⁹⁰

A person who recklessly furnishes another person with a firearm in conscious disregard of a known substantial risk that it will be possessed or used in furtherance of a felony crime of violence is criminally liable for a felony.⁹¹

See the Minnesota Minimum Age to Purchase/Possess and Ammunition Regulation sections for laws prohibiting private sales of firearms or ammunition to minors.

See Regulating Guns in America:  Private Sales for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Gun Shows

Minnesota does not does not regulate gun shows. See the Minnesota Private Sales section for state laws that may apply at gun shows.

See Regulating Guns in America:  Gun Shows for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Immunity Statutes

A person who owns, operates, or uses a shooting range that is in compliance with shooting range performance standards is not subject to any nuisance action for damages or equitable relief based on noise or other matters regulated by the shooting range performance standards.⁹²

For detailed information about government and private party lawsuits against the gun industry, the status of litigation involving gun industry immunity statutes in various states, or pending gun industry immunity legislation, visit the Brady Center's Legal Action Project and the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence's Gun Industry Immunity page.

See LCAV’s policy page on Immunity Statutes / Manufacturer Litigation for further information.

Gun Owner Responsibilities

Firearms in Public Places

Concealed Weapons Permitting

See Regulating Guns in America:  Carrying Concealed Weapons for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Minnesota requires that a person have a valid permit to possess or control a concealable firearm in a public place.¹⁰³

Minnesota is, generally, a "shall issue" state, meaning that the county sheriff must issue a permit to carry a handgun if the applicant meets certain qualifications.¹⁰⁴ When an applicant applies for a permit to carry a handgun, the county sheriff must issue a license if the applicant:

• Is at least 21 years old;

• Is a citizen or permanent resident of the U.S.;

• Has training in the safe use of a handgun;

• Is not prohibited from possessing a firearm because the applicant:

• Has not committed an assault in the fifth degree;¹⁰⁵ 

• Has not committed an assault upon a family member;¹⁰⁶

• Has not violated an order of protection within the past three years;¹⁰⁷

• Has not committed a stalking crime;¹⁰⁸ 

• Is not a nonresident alien;¹⁰⁹

• Is not currently under arrest for a crime against the person;¹¹⁰

• Is not currently released on bail for domestic abuse, harassment, violation of an order for protection, or violation of a domestic abuse no contact order;¹¹¹

• Is not prohibited from possessing a firearm by any federal law;¹¹² or

• Is not otherwise prohibited from possessing a firearm by Minnesota Statutes § 624.713 (see the Minnesota Prohibited Purchasers Generally section for a full list of prohibited persons); and

• Is not listed in the criminal gang investigative data system.¹¹³ 

Note that a sheriff has limited discretion to deny a permit to carry if there is a “substantial likelihood” that the applicant would be a danger to herself, himself or others if authorized to carry a handgun.¹¹⁴

To ensure that the applicant is qualified for a permit to carry a handgun, the sheriff is required to check criminal histories, records and warrant information relating to the applicant through the Minnesota Crime Information System, and to the extent necessary, the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) and commitment information through the state Commissioner of Human Services.¹¹⁵ The sheriff must also notify the chief of police of the municipality where the applicant resides, so as to give the chief the opportunity to provide any relevant information.¹¹⁶ At least once annually, the sheriff must conduct a background check on a permit holder through the Minnesota Crime Information System and, to the extent necessary, NICS, to ensure continuing eligibility, and may conduct additional background checks at any time the permit is in effect.¹¹⁷

Any person convicted of violating Minnesota Statutes § 624.7142, subd. 1(1)-(6) – prohibiting the carrying of a handgun while under the influence of alcohol, a controlled substance, or certain hazardous substances – will have is or her authority to carry a handgun in a public place on or about the person's clothes or person revoked, and that person may not reapply for a permit for one year.¹¹⁸ If a person refuses to submit to chemical testing but a police officer certifies that probable cause existed to believe that the person was under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance while carrying a handgun in a public place, a court may revoke the person's authority to carry a handgun for one year.¹¹⁹

A person who carries, holds, or possesses a handgun in a motor vehicle, snowmobile or boat, or on or about the person's clothes or person, or otherwise in possession or control in a public place without having a permit to carry the handgun is criminally liable for a gross misdemeanor; subsequent offenses are felonies.¹²⁰

A permit is not required to carry a handgun:

• About a person's place of business, residence, or land that he or she owns;

• From a place of purchase to the person's dwelling or place of business, or from the person's dwelling or business to or from a place of repair;

• Between the person's dwelling and place of business;

• In the woods, fields, or waters of the state for the purpose of hunting or target shooting in a safe area; or

• In a motor vehicle, snowmobile or boat if it is unloaded and contained in a closed and fastened case, gun box, or securely tied package.¹²¹

The sheriff's failure to notify an applicant that the application has been denied within 30 days of receipt of the application constitutes issuance of the permit to carry and the sheriff must promptly mail the permit to the applicant.¹²²

Firearms Safety Training

Applicants for a permit to carry must have training in the safe use of a handgun within the past year of an original or renewal application.¹²³ Such training may be demonstrated by: 1) employment as a peace officer in Minnesota within the past year; or 2) completion of a firearms safety or training course providing basic training in the safe use of a handgun, conducted by a certified instructor.¹²⁴
Basic handgun safety training must include:

• Instruction in the fundamentals of handgun use;

• Successful completion of an actual shooting qualification exercise; and

• Instruction in the fundamental legal aspects of handgun possession, carrying, and use, including self-defense and the restrictions on the use of deadly force.¹²⁵

Instructors must issue a certificate to any person who has completed a firearms safety or training course, which must be signed by the instructor and attest that the person attended and completed the course.¹²⁶

This requirement does not apply in the case of an emergency permit, which a sheriff may immediately issue if the sheriff determines that the person is in an emergency situation that may constitute an immediate risk to the safety of the person or someone in the person's household.¹²⁷

Duration & Renewal

A permit to carry remains in effect for up to five years after the date it is issued and may be renewed "in the same manner and under the same criteria by which the original permit was obtained."¹²⁸ An emergency permit is valid for 30 days and may not be renewed.¹²⁹

Disclosure or Use of Information

All data pertaining to applications for permits to carry firearms which are collected by state agencies, political subdivisions or statewide systems pursuant to Minnesota Statutes §§ 624.712 to 624.719 are classified as "private."¹³⁰ Thus, that data is not available to the public, but is accessible to the subject of the data.¹³¹ In addition, data on persons permitted to carry handguns under the terms of a permit must be shared as required by Minnesota Statutes § 624.714, subd. 6, which requires the sheriff issuing, suspending, or revoking a permit to forward that information to the Commissioner of Public Safety.¹³²

The Commissioner must maintain a database available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, only to law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to verify the validity of a permit.¹³³ The Commissioner may also keep a database of permits that were denied or revoked, including the date of, and reasons for, denial or revocation, for six years from the denial or revocation.¹³⁴  This database may be available only to sheriffs performing their duties regarding permits to carry handguns.¹³⁵

The Commissioner is required to report yearly to the state legislature information regarding permits and permit holders, but "without expressly identifying an applicant."¹³⁶  Sheriffs and police chiefs must supply the Department of Public Safety with the basic data required to complete this report, including data classified as private. Copies of the report must be made available to the public.¹³⁷ The current report states, among other things, that 21,944 5-year permits were issued or renewed in 2009.¹³⁸

A sheriff must not maintain records or data collected, made or held concerning an applicant or permit holder that are not necessary to support a permit that is outstanding or eligible for renewal.¹³⁹ A sheriff must completely purge all files and databases yearly to delete all information collected concerning persons who are no longer current permit holders or currently eligible to renew their permit.¹⁴⁰ These requirements do not apply, however, to records or data concerning an applicant or permit holder who has had a permit denied or revoked for lack of safe training in the use of a firearm, or because there exists a substantial likelihood that the applicant is a danger to himself or herself or the public if authorized to carry a handgun, for six years from the denial or revocation.¹⁴¹

CCW Location Limits

Minnesota allows a person carrying a firearm on or about his or her person or clothes under a permit who remains at a private establishment knowing that the operator has made a "reasonable request" that firearms not be brought into the establishment to be ordered to leave the premises.¹⁴²  A "reasonable request" is defined as a request made in either of two ways:

• The requester may post a readily visible sign, within four feet laterally of every entrance to the establishment with the bottom of the sign at a height of four to six feet above the floor, that states: "(INDICATE IDENTITY OF OPERATOR) BANS GUNS IN THESE PREMISES;"¹⁴³

• Alternatively, the requester must personally inform the person that guns are prohibited in the premises and demand compliance.¹⁴⁴

An owner or operator may not prohibit the lawful carrying or possession of firearms in a parking facility or parking area, and a landlord may not restrict the lawful carrying or possession of firearms by tenants or their guests.¹⁴⁵

Following its adoption in 2005, Minnesota Statutes § 624.714, subd. 17 (provisions governing the carrying of concealed handguns on private property) was challenged by churches as unconstitutional under article I, section 16, of the Minnesota Constitution, the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.¹⁴⁶  The churches argued that the following statutory requirements violated their exercise of religion:

• Requiring a church, prior to actually ordering a person possessing a firearm to leave its premises, to:

• Post at every entrance signs that conform to specific requirements; or

• Personally inform each person that guns are prohibited and demand compliance;

• Precluding a church from prohibiting guns in parking areas on church property; and

• Precluding a church from prohibiting their tenants and the guests of tenants from having guns on church property.¹⁴⁷

The Hennepin County District Court found in favor of the churches and issued a permanent injunction prohibiting enforcement against the churches of the statutory provisions relating to signage and personal notice, parking areas, and landlords.¹⁴⁸  Minnesota appealed this to the state Court of Appeals, which found in favor of the churches, stating that the notice, parking area, and tenant provisions significantly burdened their sincerely held religious beliefs, and the state failed to show that permitting the churches to ban guns on church property was inconsistent with state interests in public safety, travel and providing uniform communication about where guns were prohibited.¹⁴⁹

Minnesota law also provides that a possessor of any private residence (as opposed to other private establishments) may prohibit firearms, and provide notice thereof, in any lawful manner.¹⁵⁰

Reciprocity

The Commissioner of Public Safety must annually establish and publish a list of states whose permits are "not substantially similar" to Minnesota permit requirements.  All state permits not on this list are valid if the permit holder is not prohibited from possessing a firearm.¹⁵¹ The Commissioner must, when necessary, execute reciprocity agreements regarding carry permits with jurisdictions whose carry permits are recognized by Minnesota.¹⁵²

Open Carrying

Minnesota allows the open carrying of handguns on the person or in a vehicle with a valid permit to carry.¹⁵³

Minnesota generally prohibits the open carrying of rifles and shotguns in public.¹⁵⁴

Minnesota allows the open carrying of firearms in a vehicle, if the gun is unloaded and either: 1) in a gun case made to contain the firearm, and the case fully encloses the firearm my being zipped, snapped, buckled, tied or otherwise fastened, without any portion of the gun exposed; or 2) in the closed trunk.¹⁵⁵

Location Restrictions

Guns in Vehicles

No person may carry, hold or possess a handgun in a motor vehicle, snowmobile or boat without a permit to carry a handgun.¹⁵⁶ However, a permit is not required to carry a handgun:

• About a person's place of business, residence, or land that he or she owns;

• From a place of purchase to the person's dwelling or place of business, or from the person's dwelling or business to or from a place of repair;

• Between the person's dwelling and place of business;

• In the woods, fields, or waters of the state for the purpose of hunting or target shooting in a safe area; or

• In a motor vehicle, snowmobile or boat if it is unloaded and contained in a closed and fastened case, gun box, or securely tied package.¹⁵⁷

Minnesota allows the transportation of firearms in a motor vehicle if the gun is unloaded and either: 1) in a gun case made to contain the firearm, and the case fully encloses the firearm by being zipped, snapped, buckled, tied or otherwise fastened, without any portion of the gun exposed; or 2) in the closed trunk.¹⁵⁸  The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources recently issued a report about the efficacy of this law.¹⁵⁹

No person may carry a firearm or ammunition into an aircraft other than a public aircraft except in the manner in which a firearm may be lawfully carried in a motor vehicle.¹⁶⁰

A person presently charged with a crime punishable by imprisonment for more than one year is not entitled to transport any handgun or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon.¹⁶¹ Also, a state administrative regulation prohibits transporting a firearm in a vehicle used for driver education.¹⁶²

Guns in Schools

Minnesota prohibits the possession, storing, or keeping of a firearm while knowingly on school property.¹⁶³

School property includes:

• Public or private elementary, middle, or secondary school buildings and its improved grounds, whether leased or owned by the school;

• A child care center licensed under state law during the period children are present and participating in a child care program;

• The area within a school bus when that bus is being used by a school to transport one or more elementary, middle, or secondary school students to and from school-related activities; and

• That portion of a building or facility under the temporary, exclusive control of a public or private school, a school district, or an association of such entities where conspicuous signs are prominently posted at each entrance that give actual notice to persons of the school-related use.¹⁶⁴

Exceptions to the prohibition of gun possession on school property include:

• Persons authorized to carry a handgun while in a motor vehicle or outside of a motor vehicle to directly place a firearm in, or retrieve it from, the trunk or rear area of the vehicle;

• Persons who keep or store in a motor vehicle firearms in accordance with provisions under state law;

• Firearm safety or marksmanship courses or activities conducted on school property;

• A gun or knife show held on school property; or

• Persons who are on unimproved property owned or leased by a child care center, school, or school district unless the person knows that a student is currently present on the land for a school-related activity.¹⁶⁵

Minnesota prohibits any person with a permit to carry a firearm from carrying a firearm on or about the person’s clothes or person in a location the person knows is school property.¹⁶⁶  Exceptions to this prohibition include possession by a handgun carry permittee who lawfully stores a firearm in a motor vehicle, or while he or she is in a motor vehicle, or while he or she is directly placing a firearm in or retrieving it from the trunk or rear area of a vehicle.¹⁶⁷

School boards are required to expel for a period of at least one year a pupil who brought a firearm to school.¹⁶⁸  A board may modify this expulsion requirement for a pupil on a case-by-case basis.¹⁶⁹

A public postsecondary institution regulated under state law may establish policies that restrict the carrying or possession of firearms by its students while on the institution’s property, and academic sanctions may be invoked for a violation.¹⁷⁰  A postsecondary institution may not prohibit the lawful possession of firearms in a parking facility or parking area.¹⁷¹

See LCAV’s policy page on Guns in Schools for further information.

Other Location Restrictions

In Minnesota, no person may carry a firearm within a state game refuge unless the firearm is unloaded and either contained in a case or broken down.¹⁷² State administrative regulations apply similar requirements to state parks, forest recreation areas, and wildlife management areas.¹⁷³

No person may bring a firearm into or possess a firearm in or upon the grounds belonging to or land controlled by any state correctional facility or state hospital without the consent of the chief executive officer.¹⁷⁴

Moreover, no person may possess a firearm or ammunition within a courthouse complex or in any state building within the Capitol Area, other than the National Guard Armory, without notifying the sheriff or Commissioner of Public Safety.¹⁷⁵ A person who does not have a permit to carry must have the sheriff's or Commissioner's express consent.¹⁷⁶ This provision does not apply to possession by museums or collectors of art or for other lawful purposes of public exhibition.¹⁷⁷

An innkeeper may refuse to admit or refuse service or accommodations to any person the innkeeper reasonably believes is bringing firearms into the hotel.¹⁷⁸

An employer may establish policies restricting firearm carrying or possession by its employees while acting in the course and scope of employment.¹⁷⁹ An employer may not, however, prohibit any lawful carrying or possession of firearms in a parking facility or parking area.¹⁸⁰

State administrative regulations address the possession of firearms in:

• Worker's compensation hearing rooms and offices;¹⁸¹

• Jail facilities;¹⁸²

• Correctional programs for children;¹⁸³

• Camps and mobile home parks;¹⁸⁴

• Scientific and natural areas;¹⁸⁵

• Public water access sites;¹⁸⁶

• The state capitol area and other state-owned or state-leased property within the Twin Cities metropolitan area as the governor may designate;¹⁸⁷

• The grounds of certain licensed horse racing associations;¹⁸⁸

• Veterans’ homes;¹⁸⁹

• Licensed day care facilities;¹⁹⁰

• Adult foster homes; or¹⁹¹

• Property owned or controlled by the Minnesota Zoological Garden.¹⁹²

Minnesota law has no specific provisions prohibiting firearms in:

• Hospitals;

• Bars or restaurants where alcohol is served;

• Sports arenas;

• Most gambling facilities; or

• Polling places.

Note that, generally, loaded long guns are prohibited in public places,¹⁹³ and a possessor must have a permit to carry a handgun, whether openly or concealed.¹⁹⁴

Consumer & Child Safety

Design Safety Standards for Handguns

Federally licensed firearms dealers are prohibited from selling a “Saturday Night Special Pistol,” and no person may manufacture or assemble a “Saturday Night Special Pistol.”¹⁹⁵ The state defines a “Saturday Night Special Pistol” as a handgun “other than an antique firearm or a pistol for which the propelling force is carbon dioxide, air or other vapor, or children's pop guns or toys, having a frame, barrel, cylinder, slide or breechblock:

• Of any material having a melting point of less than 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit;

• Of any material having an ultimate tensile strength of less than 55,000 pounds per square inch; or

• Of any powdered metal having a density of less than 7.5 grams per cubic centimeter.”¹⁹⁶

See Regulating Guns in America:  Design Safety Standards for Handguns for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Locking Devices

Minnesota prohibits any person from negligently storing or leaving a loaded firearm in a location where the person knows, or reasonably should know, that a child (person under age 18) is likely to gain access to the firearm, unless reasonable action is taken to secure the firearm against access by the child.¹⁹⁷

See Regulating Guns in America:  Locking Devices for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Personalized / Owner-Authorized Firearms

Minnesota does not require firearms to be personalized.

See Regulating Guns in America:  Personalized Firearms for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Child Access Prevention

Minnesota prohibits any person from negligently storing or leaving a loaded firearm in a location where the person knows, or reasonably should know, that a child under age 18 is likely to gain access to the firearm, unless reasonable action is taken to secure the firearm against access by the child.¹⁹⁸ This prohibition does not apply if the child obtained access as a result of any unlawful entry.¹⁹⁹ A person who intentionally or recklessly causes a child under 14 years of age to be placed in a situation likely to substantially harm the child's physical health or cause the child's death as a result of the child's access to a loaded firearm, is criminally liable for child endangerment.²⁰⁰

See Regulating Guns in America:  Child Access Prevention for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Classes of Weapons / Ammunition

Assault Weapons

Minnesota does not generally ban assault weapons, but has adopted a series of statutes regulating the possession and sale of certain "semiautomatic military-style assault weapons."  A firearm is considered a semiautomatic military-style assault weapon if it is on the list of over two dozen named types of regulated firearms,²⁰¹ or is another model of a listed firearm, is made by the same manufacturer as the listed firearm, has the same action design, and

• Is a redesigned, renamed, or renumbered version; or

• Has a slight modification or enhancement (such as a folding or retractable stock; adjustable sight; case deflector for left-handed shooters; shorter barrel; wooden, plastic, or metal stock; larger clip size; different caliber; or a bayonet mount).²⁰²

Moreover, a firearm is also classified as a semiautomatic military-style assault weapon if it was manufactured or sold under a licensing agreement with a manufacturer of one of the listed firearms to manufacture or sell firearms that are identical or nearly identical to a listed firearm or a firearm described in Minnesota Statutes § 624.712, subd. 7(2).²⁰³

A firearm that is generally recognized as "particularly suitable or readily adaptable to sporting purposes" or any of its regulations is not a semiautomatic military-style assault weapon.²⁰⁴

In addition, Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is required to publish a list of firearms included within the definition of semiautomatic military-style assault weapon.  The Bureau is required to update the list annually.²⁰⁵

Minnesota prohibits the possession of semiautomatic military-style assault weapons by persons who are under 18 years of age.²⁰⁶ Such persons may carry or possess a semiautomatic military-style assault weapon only:

• In the actual presence or under the direct supervision of a parent or guardian;

• For the purposes of a military drill while under competent supervision, under the auspices of a legally recognized military organization;

• For instruction, competition or target practice  under direct supervision on a law enforcement-approved firing range; or

• Upon successful completion of a course designed to teach marksmanship and safety with a handgun or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon and approved by the state commissioner of natural resources.²⁰⁷

A person charged with a crime punishable by more than one year imprisonment may not receive, ship, or transport a semiautomatic military-style assault weapon.²⁰⁸

A person who wishes to acquire a semiautomatic military-style assault weapon may apply to his or her local chief of police or county sheriff for a transferee permit, although a transferee permit is not required for purchase of such weapons.²⁰⁹ See the Minnesota Licensing of Gun Purchasers/Owners section for further information.

With certain limited exceptions, if a person wishes to acquire a semiautomatic military-style assault weapon from a federally licensed dealer, but does not have a transferee permit or a permit to carry a handgun, the dealer must file a report with the police chief or sheriff, who then performs a background check.²¹⁰ See the Minnesota Background Checks section for further information.

A person commits a gross misdemeanor if he or she intentionally transfers a semiautomatic military-style assault weapon to a person he or she knows:

• Has been denied a permit to carry a weapon because the transferee is not eligible under Minnesota Statutes § 624.713 to possess an assault weapon; or

• Has been found ineligible to possess an assault weapon by law enforcement as a result of an application for a transferee permit or transfer report.²¹¹

An offense under this section is a felony if within one year the transferee uses the weapon to further a felony crime of violence.²¹²

Carrying a rifle or shotgun in a public place, which is usually a gross misdemeanor, becomes a felony if the weapon was a semiautomatic military-style assault weapon and the person carrying the weapon was under the age of 21.²¹³

Large Capacity Ammunition Magazines

Minnesota has no law regulating large capacity ammunition magazines.

See Regulating Guns in America:  Large Capacity Ammunition Magazines for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Fifty Caliber Rifles

Minnesota has no law regulating fifty caliber rifles.

See Regulating Guns in America:  Fifty Caliber Rifles for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Machine Guns / Automatic Firearms

Minnesota prohibits the ownership, possession, or operation of a machine gun, trigger activator or machine gun conversion kit.²¹⁴

Minnesota does allow certain persons to own or possess a machine gun including:

• Law enforcement and correctional facilities personnel in the course of their duties;

• Persons possessing machine guns that have been determined by the superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to be primarily collector’s items, relics, museum pieces or objects of curiosity, ornaments or keepsakes, and are not likely to be used as weapons, based on the date of manufacture, value, design or other characteristics of the weapons; or

• Federally-licensed dealers and manufacturers who have authority to buy, sell and/or manufacture machine guns and who either use the machine guns in peace officer training under courses approved by the Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training, or are engaged in the sale of machine guns to federal and state agencies or political subdivisions.²¹⁵

Private persons, dealers or manufacturers owning or possessing a machine gun are required to submit reports of the gun to the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.  Dealers and manufacturers must, by the tenth day of each month, file a written report showing the name and address of the dealer or manufacturer and the serial number of each machine gun acquired or manufactured during the previous month.²¹⁶  For all other persons, within ten days after acquiring ownership or possession of a machine gun, the person must file a written report showing his or her name and address, official title and position, a description of the machine gun sufficient to enable identification thereof, the purpose for which it is owned or possessed, and any additional information as the Bureau may reasonably require.²¹⁷

See LCAV’s policy page on Machine Guns for further information.

Non-Powder Guns

Minnesota prohibits the carrying of a BB gun in a public place.²¹⁸  Minnesota also prohibits the display, exhibition, brandishing or other use of a BB gun in a threatening manner, if while doing so, the possessor:

• Causes or attempts to cause “terror” in another person; or

• Acts in reckless disregard of the risk of causing terror in another person.²¹⁹

Outside of a municipality, Minnesota prohibits furnishing without parental consent an airgun to a child under age 14 without the consent of the child’s parent or guardian. The state also prohibits, outside of a municipality, any parent or guardian from permitting his or her child under age 14 to handle or use an airgun outside of the parent's or guardian's presence.²²⁰

Within a municipality, Minnesota prohibits any person from furnishing a minor (under age 18) with an airgun without the prior consent of the minor's parent or guardian or of the municipality’s police department.²²¹

Minnesota also prohibits the use, brandishing, possession, storage or keeping of a BB gun while knowingly on school property.²²²

The aforementioned prohibitions are subject to several exceptions, including: possession of BB guns by a ceremonial color guard or with the written permission of the principal or other person having general control and supervision of the school or the director of a child care center.²²³

See Regulating Guns in America:  Non-Powder Guns for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Ammunition Regulation

See Regulating Guns in America:  Ammunition Regulation for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

Ammunition Sales Licensing/Regulation

Minnesota does not require a license to sell ammunition.  The state does prohibit the display of centerfire metallic-case handgun ammunition for sale to the public in a manner that makes the ammunition directly accessible to persons under age 18, unless the display is under observation of the seller or the seller’s employee or agent, or the seller takes reasonable steps to exclude underage persons from the immediate vicinity of the display.²²⁴

Minimum Age to Purchase/Possess Ammunition

Minnesota generally bans furnishing ammunition to a child under age 14 outside a municipality.²²⁵

Minnesota generally bans furnishing ammunition to a minor (under age 18) without the consent of the minor’s parent or guardian or the police department of the municipality, while within the municipality.²²⁶ Federal ammunition purchaser prohibitions also apply.

Restricting Locations Where Ammunition May be Possessed

Minnesota prohibits the possession of ammunition within any courthouse complex or state building within the Capitol Area, other than the National Guard Armory.²²⁷ 

Regulation of Unreasonably Dangerous Ammunition

Minnesota prohibits the use or possession of a “metal-penetrating bullet” during the commission of a crime.²²⁸  A “metal-penetrating bullet” is defined as a handgun bullet of “9 mm, .25, .32, .357, .38, .41, .44, or .451 caliber which is comprised of hardened core equal to the minimum of the maximum attainable hardness by solid red metal alloys which purposely reduces the normal expansion or mushrooming of the bullet’s shape upon impact.”²²⁹

Federal prohibitions on armor-piercing ammunition also apply.
Minnesota does not:

• Require a license to purchase or possess ammunition;

• Require sellers of ammunition to maintain a record of the purchasers;  or

• Prohibit persons who are ineligible to possess firearms under state law from possessing ammunition, although federal ammunition purchaser prohibitions apply.

Investigating Gun Crimes

Microstamping / Ballistic Identification

Minnesota has no laws regarding firearm microstamping or ballistic identification.

Trafficking

In Minnesota, a person other than a federally licensed dealer who transfers a handgun or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon without complying with state background check requirements is criminally liable for a gross misdemeanor if the transferee possesses or uses the firearm within one year after the transfer in furtherance of a felony crime of violence, and:

• The transferee was prohibited from possessing the weapon under Minnesota Statutes § 624.713 at the time of the transfer; or

• It was reasonably foreseeable at the time of the transfer that the transferee was likely to use or possess the weapon in furtherance of a felony crime of violence.²³⁰

A person who recklessly furnishes another person with a firearm in conscious disregard of a known substantial risk that it will be possessed or used in furtherance of a felony crime of violence is criminally liable for a felony.²³¹

Minnesota also prohibits any person from receiving or possessing a firearm that is not identified by a serial number, or a firearm where the serial number or other identification of which has been obliterated, removed, changed, or altered.²³²

State Links

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, St. Paul Field Division (MN, ND, SD, WI)

Citizens for a Safer Minnesota Educational Fund

The Family Partnership

Minnesota Center Against Violence and Abuse

Minnesota Institute of Public Health

Office of the Minnesota Attorney General

Footnotes

^1. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, WISQARS Injury Mortality Reports, 1999-2006, at http://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/mortrate10_sy.html.

^2. For a more comprehensive discussion regarding the patterns of gun trafficking across the states, see Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Trace the Guns:  The Link Between Gun Laws and Interstate Gun Trafficking (Sept. 2010), at http://www.tracetheguns.org/report.pdf.

^3. U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, List of Federal Firearms Licensees (July 2010), Minnesota, at http://www.atf.gov/about/foia/ffl-list.html.

^4. Minn. Stat. § 624.712, subd. 2.

^5. Minn. Stat. §§ 624.713, subd. 1(2); 242.31, subd. 2a; 260B.245, subd. 1(b); 609.165, subd. 1b.

^6. Minn. Stat. § 624.713, subd. 1(3).

^7. Minn. Stat. § 624.713, subd. 1(4).

^8. Minn. Stat. § 624.713, subd. 1(5).

^9. Minn. Stat. § 624.713, subd. 1(6).

^10. Minn. Stat. §  624.713, subd. 1(7).

^11. Minn. Stat. §  624.713, subd. 1(8).

^12. Minn. Stat. § 624.713, subd. 1(9).

^13. Minn. Stat. § 624.713, subd. 1(10)(i).

^14. Minn. Stat. § 624.713, subd. 1(10)(ii).

^15. Minn. Stat. § 624.713, subd. 1(10)(iii).

^16. Minn. Stat. § 624.713, subd. 1(10)(iv).

^17. Minn. Stat. § 624.713, subd. 1(10)(v).

^18. Minn. Stat. § 624.713, subd. 1(10)(vi).

^19. Minn. Stat. § 624.713, subd. 1(10)(vii).

^20. See Minn. Stat. § 624.713, subd. 1(11).

^21. See Minn. Stat. § 609.229.

^22. See Minn. Stat. § 609.2231, subd. 4.

^23. See Minn. Stat. § 609.255.

^24. See Minn. Stat. § 609.378.

^25. See Minn. Stat. § 609.582, subd. 4.

^26. See Minn. Stat. § 609.665.

^27. See Minn. Stat. § 609.71.

^28. Minn. Stat. § 609.749.

^29. Minn. Stat. § 624.713, subd. 1a.

^30. Minn. Stat. § 624.713, subd. 1(1).

^31. Minn. Stat. § 609.749, subd. 8.

^32. Minn. Stat. § 518B.01, subd.14(j), (k).

^33. Minn. Stat. § 624.719.

^34. Minn. Stat. § 518B.01, subd. 14(l).

^35. Minn. Stat. § 609.224, subd. 3(b).

^36. Minn. Stat. § 609.2242, subd. 3(d), (e).

^37. Minn. Stat. §§ 624.7131, subd. 4; 624.7132, subd. 5.

^38. Minn. R. 2940.2000, subp. 7.

^39. See Minn. Stat. § 243.166 for further information.

^40. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 24.

^41. Minn. Stat. § 624.713, subd. 1(1).   Other exceptions exist for: 1) purposes of a military drill while under competent supervision, under the auspices of a legally recognized military organization; 2) for instruction, competition or target practice  under direct supervision on a law enforcement-approved firing range; or 3) upon successful completion of a course designed to teach marksmanship and safety with a handgun or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon and approved by the state commissioner of natural resources.

^42. Minn. Stat. § 624.7132, subd. 15(b)(1).

^43. Minn. Stat. § 97B.021, subd. 1(a).

^44. Minn. Stat. § 97B.021, subd. 1(b), subd. 1a.

^45. Minn. Stat. § 609.66, subd. 1(a)(6).

^46. Id.

^47. Minn. Stat. § 609.66, subd. 1b.

^48. Minn. Stat. § 609.749, subd. 8(a).

^49. Minn. Stat. §  624.713, subd. 1(8).

^50. Minn. Stat. § 624.713, subd. 1(9).

^51. Minn. Stat. § 518B.01, subd.14(j), (k).

^52. Minn. Stat. § 609.749, subd. 8(b).

^53. Minn. Stat. § 518B.01, subd. 14(l).

^54. Minn. Stat. § 609.224, subd. 3(b).

^55. Minn. Stat. § 609.2242, subd. 3(d), (e).

^56. Minn. Stat. § 518B.01, subd. 6(a)(13), subd. 7(a).

^57. Minn. Stat. § 629.72, subd. 2.

^58. Minn. Stat. § 518B.01, subd. 14(m).  See Minn. Stat. § 609.5316, subd. 3 regarding forfeiture of weapons. 

^59. Minn. Stat. § 609.2242, subd. 3(a), (b).

^60. Minn. Stat. § 629.715, subd. 2.

^61. Id.

^62. Minn. Stat. § 624.7132, subd. 1, 2; see also Minn. Stat. § 624.7132, subd. 12 (exempting private sellers from this requirement).

^63. Minn. Stat. §§ 624.7131, subd. 2, subd. 4; 624.714, subd. 4.

^64. Minn. Stat. §§ 624.7131, subd. 2; 624.7132, subd. 2; 624.714, subd. 4.

^65. 18 U.S.C. § 922(d)(4).

^66. Minn. Stat. § 245.041.

^67. Minn. Stat. § 624.7131, subd. 1(3).  See also Minn. Stat. § 624.7132, subd. 1(3) for a seller’s duty to report to law enforcement the release of mental health information by a prospective purchaser of a handgun or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon.

^68. Minn. Stat. § 253B.09, subd. 3a.

^69. Minn. Stat. § 253B.24.

^70. Minn. Stat. § 624.7132, subd. 9.

^71. Minn. Stat. § 624.7132, subd. 1, 2; see also Minn. Stat. § 624.7132, subd. 12 (exempting private sellers from this requirement).

^72. Minn. Stat. § 13.87, subd. 2.

^73. Minn. Stat. § 13.02, subd. 12.

^74. Minn. Stat. § 624.7132, subd. 1.

^75. Minn. Stat. § 624.7132, subd. 4.  This statute is somewhat unclear with respect to the length of the waiting period, referring both to a “five business day waiting period” and a “seven day waiting period.”

^76. Id.

^77. Id.

^78. Minn. Stat. § 624.7132, subd. 12.

^79. Minn. Stat. § 624.7161, subd. 2.

^80. Id.

^81. Minn. Stat. § 624.7161, subd. 3.

^82. Id.

^83. Minn. R. 7504.0200—7504.0500.

^84. Minn. R. 7504.0600.

^85. Minn. Stat. § 624.7162.

^86. Minn. Stat. § 624.7132, subd. 1.

^87. Minn. Stat. § 624.7132, subd. 4.

^88. Minn. Stat. § 624.716.

^89. Minn. Stat. § 624.7132, subd. 12.

^90. Minn. Stat. § 624.7141.  An offense under this statute is a felony if within one year the transferee uses the weapon in furtherance of a felony crime of violence.

^91. Minn. Stat. § 609.66, subd. 1c.

^92. Minn. Stat. § 87A.06.

^93. Minn. Stat. §§ 624.7131, 624.7132.

^94. Minn. Stat. § 624.7131, subd. 10.

^95. Minn. Stat. § 624.7131, subd. 2, subd. 5.

^96. Minn. Stat. § 624.7131, subd. 5.

^97. Minn. Stat. § 624.7131, subd. 4. See the Minnesota Background Checks section for a list of persons prohibited from possessing such weapons by Minn. Stat. § 624.713.

^98. Minn. Stat. § 624.7131, subd. 9.

^99. Minn. Stat. § 624.7131, subd. 6.

^100. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 20(d).

^101. Minn. Stat. § 624.7132, subd. 10.

^102. Id.

^103. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 1a.

^104. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 2(b).

^105. Minn. Stat. § 609.224, subd. 3.

^106. Minn. Stat. § 609.2242, subd. 3.

^107. See Minn. Stat. § 518B.01, subd. 14.

^108. See Minn. Stat. § 609.749, subd. 8.

^109. Minn. Stat. § 624.719.

^110. Minn. Stat. § 629.715, subd. 2.

^111. Minn. Stat. § 629.72, subd. 2.

^112. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 2.

^113. See Minn. Stat. § 299C.091.

^114. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 6(a)(3).

^115. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 4(a).

^116. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 4(b).

^117. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 4(c).

^118. Minn. Stat. § 624.7142, subd. 1, subd. 6(c).  If the person's alcohol concentration was less than 0.10 (but more than 0.04), these penalties only last for 180 days.  Minn. Stat. § 624.7142, subd. 6(d).

^119. Minn. Stat. § 624.7143, subd. 2.

^120. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 1a.

^121. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 9.

^122. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 6(b).  Additional application and background check requirements, as well as permit suspension and disqualification information, are detailed throughout Minn. Stat. § 624.714.

^123. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 2(b)(1), subd. 2a.

^124. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 2a(a).

^125. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 2a(b). A sheriff may also accept other satisfactory evidence of training in the safe use of a pistol. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 2a(e).

^126. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 2a(c).

^127. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 11a.

^128. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. (7)(c).

^129. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 11a.

^130. Minn. Stat. § 13.87, subd. 2.

^131. Minn. Stat. § 13.02, subd. 12.

^132. Minn. Stat. § 13.871, subd 9.

^133. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 15(a).

^134. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 15(b).

^135. Id.

^136. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 20.

^137. Id.

^138. Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Department of Public Safety, State of Minnesota, 2009 Permit to Carry Report, at http://www.dps.state.mn.us/bca/cjis/documents/carrypermit/2009PTSReport.pdf.

^139. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 14(a).

^140. Id.

^141. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 14(b).

^142. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 17(a).

^143. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 17(b)(1)(i).

^144. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 17(b)(1)(ii).

^145. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 17(c), (e).

^146. 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc.

^147. Minn. Stat. 624.714, subd. 17.

^148. Edina Cmty. Lutheran Church v. State, 745 N.W.2d 194, 198-99, 213 (Minn. Ct. App. 2008).

^149. Id. at 209-10. The court found that the statutory provisions pertaining to exclusion of guns from private property did not constitute “land use regulations” within the meaning of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act and reversed that part of the district court decision finding Minnesota’s law in violation of the federal law. Id. at 198, 212.

^150. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 17(d).

^151. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 16(a), (b). See the Minnesota Department of Public Safety website.

^152. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 16(d).

^153. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 1a.

^154. Minn. Stat. § 624.7181, subd. 2.  This prohibition is subject to the following exceptions:

• It is being carried to, from, or at a place where firearms are repaired, bought, sold, traded, or displayed, or where hunting, target shooting, or other lawful activity involving firearms occurs, or at funerals, parades, or other lawful ceremonies;

• It is unloaded and in a gun case expressly made for a firearm and which fully encloses the firearm with no portion of the gun exposed;

• The person has a permit to carry a handgun;

• The firearm is an antique firearm that is being carried as a curiosity or for its historical significance or value; or

• The firearm is being transported unloaded and in the closed trunk of a motor vehicle.

^155. Minn. Stat. § 97B.045, subd. 1. Additional exceptions exist for transporting unloaded, uncased long guns while at a shooting range, lawfully hunting or when traveling to or from a hunting site.  See Minn. Stat. § 97B.045, subd. 3(a).

^156. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 1a.

^157. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 9.

^158. Minn. Stat. § 97B.045, subd. 1. Exceptions are provided for disabled persons participating in hunting activities under specified circumstances. Minn. Stat. § 97B.045, subd. 2.  Additional exceptions exist for transporting unloaded, uncased long guns while at a shooting range, lawfully hunting or when traveling to or from a hunting site.  See Minn. Stat. § 97B.045, subd. 3(a).

^159. Division of Enforcement, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, 2009 Uncased Firearms Report, at http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/aboutdnr/reports/2009_uncased_firearms.pdf.

^160. Minn. Stat. § 360.075, subd. 1(10).

^161. Minn. Stat. § 624.713, subd. 1a.

^162. Minn. R. 7411.0545(F).

^163. Minn. Stat. § 609.66, subd. 1d(a).

^164. Minn. Stat. § 609.66, subd. 1d(e)(4).

^165. Minn. Stat. § 609.66, subd. 1d(f).

^166. Minn. Stat. § 609.66, subd. 1d(d).

^167. Minn. Stat. § 609.66, subd. 1d(f)(3), (4).

^168. Minn. Stat. § 121A.44(a).

^169. Id.

^170. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 18(b).

^171. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 18(c).

^172. Minn. Stat. § 97A.091, subd.1(1).

^173. Minn. R. 6100.0800, subp. 1(A)(2); Minn. R. 6230.0200, subp. 4; Minn. R. 6230.0250, subp. 14.

^174. Minn. Stat. § 243.55, subd. 1.

^175. Minn. Stat. § 609.66, subd. 1g.

^176. Id.

^177. Minn. Stat. § 609.66, subd. 2.

^178. Minn. Stat. § 327.73, subd. 2(a)(3).

^179. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 18(a).

^180. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 18(c).

^181. Minn. R. 1420.2900, subp. 9.

^182. Minn. R. 2911.5600.

^183. Minn. R. 2960.0360; Minn. R. 2960.0570.

^184. Minn. R. 4630.4500.

^185. Minn. R. 6136.0550, subp. 1(F).

^186. Minn. R. 6218.0100, subp. 3.

^187. Minn. R. 7525.0400.

^188. Minn. R. 7897.0100.

^189. Minn. R. 9050.1070, subp. 37.

^190. Minn. R. 9502.0435.

^191. Minn. R. 9555.6225, subp. 10.

^192. Minn. R. 9900.5500.

^193. See Minn. Stat. § 624.7181, subd. 1, subd. 2.

^194. Minn. Stat. § 624.714, subd. 1a.

^195. Minn. Stat. § 624.716.

^196. Minn. Stat. § 624.712, subd. 4.

^197. Minn. Stat. § 609.666, subd. 2.

^198. Minn. Stat. § 609.666, subd. 2.

^199. Minn. Stat. § 609.666, subd. 3.

^200. Minn. Stat. § 609.378, subd. 1(c).

^201. Minn. Stat. § 624.712, subd. 7(1) lists more than two dozen named types of firearms that are considered “semiautomatic military-style assault weapons.”

^202. Minn. Stat. § 624.712, subd. 7(2).

^203. Id. An exception exists for licensing agreements entered into before August 1, 1993, the effective date of the statute.

^204. 18 U.S.C. § 925(d)(3).

^205. Minn. Stat. § 624.712, subd. 8.

^206. Minn. Stat. § 624.713, subd. 1(1).

^207. Id.

^208. Minn. Stat. § 624.713, subd. 1a.

^209. See Minn. Stat. § 624.7131.

^210. Minn. Stat. § 624.7132, subd. 1, subd. 2; see also Minn. Stat. § 624.7132, subd. 12 (exempting transfers from non-dealers from this requirement).

^211. Minn. Stat. § 624.7141, subd. 1.

^212. Minn. Stat. § 624.7141, subd. 2.

^213. Minn. Stat. § 624.7181, subd. 2.

^214. Minn. Stat. § 609.67, subd. 2.  “Machine gun” is defined as “any firearm designed to discharge, or capable of discharging automatically more than once by a single function of the trigger.” Minn. Stat. § 609.67, subd. 1(a). A “trigger activator” is a removable manual or power driven trigger activating device constructed and designed so that, when attached to a firearm, the rate at which the trigger may be pulled increases and the rate of fire of the firearm increases to that of a machine gun.  Minn. Stat. § 609.67, subd. 1(d).  A “machine gun conversion kit” means any part or combination of parts designed and intended for use in converting a weapon into a machine gun, and any combination of parts from which a machine gun can be assembled.  Minn. Stat. § 609.67, subd. 1(e).

^215. Minn. Stat. § 609.67, subd. 3.

^216. Minn. Stat. § 609.67, subd. 4(b).

^217. Minn. Stat. § 609.67, subd. 4(a).

^218. Minn. Stat. § 624.7181, subd. 1, subd. 2.  This prohibition is subject to the following exceptions:

• It is being carried to, from, or at a place where firearms are repaired, bought, sold, traded, or displayed, or where hunting, target shooting, or other lawful activity involving firearms occurs, or at funerals, parades, or other lawful ceremonies;

• It is unloaded and in a gun case expressly made for a firearm and which fully encloses the firearm with no portion of the gun exposed;

• The person has a permit to carry a handgun;

• The firearm is an antique firearm that is being carried as a curiosity or for its historical significance or value; or

The firearm is being transported unloaded and in the closed trunk of a motor vehicle.

^219. Minn. Stat. § 609.713, subd. 3(a).

^220. Minn. Stat. § 609.66, subd. 1(a)(6).

^221. Minn. Stat. § 609.66, subd. 1b.

^222. Minn. Stat. § 609.66, subd. 1d(b), (c).

^223. Minn. Stat. § 609.66, subd. 1d(f)(6), (8).

^224. Minn. Stat. § 609.663.

^225. Minn. Stat. § 609.66, subd. 1(a)(6).

^226. Minn. Stat. § 609.66, subd. 1b.

^227. Minn. Stat. § 609.66, subd. 1g(a).

^228. Minn. Stat. § 624.7191, subd. 3.

^229. Minn. Stat. § 624.7191, subd. 2.

^230. Minn. Stat. § 609.66, subd. 1f.

^231. Minn. Stat. § 609.66, subd. 1c.

^232. Minn. Stat. § 609.667.