ST. PAUL – The Minnesota House majority has once again prioritized legislation that continues to chip away at the rights and freedoms that are Constitutionally guaranteed by the 2nd Amendment.
This week, it approved three bills that punish Minnesotans simply because they own a gun. State Representative Bjorn Olson (R-Fairmont) voted against them all.
“It would be one thing if the majority was approving measures that would hold criminals accountable and put an end to violent crime,” Olson said. “But in this case, it is targeting law abiding citizens and in one case, actually turning a gun owner into a criminal.”
Last year, the legislative majority and Governor Walz enacted “universal” background checks and red flag confiscation orders. Now, they have approved legislation that establishes an arbitrary deadline for reporting lost and stolen firearms, meaning a person could be charged – even though they are a crime victim – if they fail to report a stolen gun within 48 hours.
There’s also a bill that creates an expanded definition of trigger activators, which Olson said creates a grey area as to whether some firearms – such as Glocks – would become illegal.
Finally, there is the proposal that would place additional burdens on law-abiding firearm owners, forcing them to store a gun unloaded and equipped with a locking device or in a locked firearm storage unit.
“A statewide mandate to lock up your handguns is unenforceable,” Olson said. “Under this language even off-duty law enforcement officers, who are never really off duty, would have to lock up their weapons after their shift had ended.”
Olson said all three of the majority party’s anti-2nd Amendment bills now head to the Minnesota Senate. There, it holds a one-seat majority, which means the deciding vote on whether these proposals are sent to the governor rests with the senator who was recently charged with burglarizing her stepmother’s home in the middle of the night.