Minnesota Senate approves bill increasing penalties for straw gun purchases; bans trigger devices that double rate of gunfire
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Buying a gun for someone who is not legally allowed to have one — known as a straw purchase — would become a felony under a bill that got approval from the Minnesota Senate Thursday.
Under current law, the penalty is a gross misdemeanor. This proposal raises it to a felony punishable by up to two years in prison and a $10,000 fine. If the weapon purchased illegally by a straw buyer was used in a violent crime, those penalties would increase even more.
The move comes in the wake of the tragedy in Burnsville in February when three first responders were shot and killed when answering a domestic call. Federal prosecutors criminally charged the shooter's girlfriend, who they say straw purchased the guns for him; he was barred from owning or buying firearms due to a prior felony.
"This bill is one more step we can take together to keep our families and law enforcement safe from gun violence," said Sen. Heather Gustafson, DFL-Vadnais Heights. "Gun violence requires a multifaceted response. And this bill closes loopholes within current laws in order to hold offenders accountable."
The measure passed Thursday afternoon on a 34-33 party-line vote. Republicans for years have pushed for the boosted penalties for straw purchases, but ultimately all of them rejected the bill because of an additional provision the DFL majority tacked onto it banning binary triggers–-or devices on guns that can double the rate of fire.
Prosecutors say one of the guns in the Burnsville incident had one of these triggers.
"It's really unfortunate that we had to insert into this bill an unconstitutional, divisive, controversial item for political reasons. That's not what Minnesotans want," said Sen. Michael Kreun, R-Blaine.
But Kreun was successful in getting support for an amendment to make the punishment even more severe when a gun illegally obtained through a straw buyer is used to harm public safety officials, including police officers and first responders.
In that case, a person could face up to 10 years in prison and a $40,000 fine. The legislation also requires reports from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension about gun seizures and gun trafficking investigations.
It already passed the House but needs to go back for final approval because of the updates made Thursday. That chamber also passed two other gun bills requiring mandatory reporting of lost and stolen firearms to law enforcement and new rules about how to store guns in one's home.
But the straw purchase bill may be the only gun measure that gets to Gov. Tim Walz's desk this year.
The safe storage legislation will not come up for a vote in the Senate, DFL Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy told reporters Thursday, because it does not have the full support of her caucus. Democrats cannot afford to lose a single vote to advance their agenda and Sen. Grant Hauschild — who represents a rural district in Greater Minnesota—said he would not vote for it, ending its chances.
"Since being elected to the State Senate, I have been clear in my opposition to a a gun storage law. That has not changed," Hauschild wrote on X. "In Northern Minnesota, we are responsible gun owners & do not need an unenforceable law to tell us how to keep ourselves safe or how to handle our guns."
It's crunch time for the Minnesota Legislature as the end of session draws near. They only have a handful of eligible days left where they can bring legislation to the floor for a vote and they are constitutionally required to adjourn May 20.
"There's so many balls in the air," House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, told reporters Thursday. "There's a lot of things I'm still hoping we'll finish and a lot of things I think will finish."