From today’s Pioneer Press and the egg heads at the capitol….
At The Capitol / Bill would tighten gun sale rules
Private buyers would need background checks
BY DENNIS LIEN
Pioneer Press
Article Last Updated: 02/21/2008 11:30:57 PM CST
Buying handguns or semiautomatic military-style weapons in Minnesota could become a bit more complicated.
A bill requiring background checks for people buying such guns from unlicensed dealers was unveiled Thursday in the state Legislature. The proposal would put those buyers on the same footing as people who buy from federally licensed dealers and already must undergo the checks, its proponents say.
“What we are looking for with this legislation is to close that loophole,” Edina Police Chief Michael Siitari said at a Capitol news conference.
But the head of a gun owners’ rights group contended the proposal duplicates existing requirements and does little more than allow the state to increase its oversight and tracking of gun sales.
“The whole purpose of this bill is to hassle law-abiding gun owners,” said Joe Olson, president of the Gun Owners Civil Rights Alliance of Minnesota.
But the bill’s chief sponsors, Sen. Yvonne Prettner Solon, DFL-Duluth, and Rep. Michael Paymar, DFL-St. Paul, insisted the measure adds a layer of needed scrutiny, limiting the ability of people who shouldn’t have guns from getting them.
“We’re trying to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and people that have mental disorders that impair their judgment,” said Prettner Solon, who acknowledged the bill isn’t likely to advance far this session.
Heather Martens, president of Citizens for a Safer Minnesota, said the bill is part of a larger campaign to raise awareness of gun-related deaths in Minnesota and to stop the flow of illegal guns into communities.
The bill would require background checks for handgun or semiautomatic assault weapon sales regardless of whether they occur between neighbors, through newspaper advertising or at gun shows. Exceptions would be made for transactions between relatives.
Prospective buyers would get their permits through federally licensed dealers.
Dennis Lien can be reached at [email protected] or 651-228-5588.
