I watched much of the hearings on the bills written up by Tim Walker in the two Session Daily articles below.
The floor debate on HF4300, as amended, went on for over 11 hours, so I'll not be embedding video of it, though I've added the YouTube of the floor debate on HF2609 after the Session Daily article about the passage of the bill.
From Session Daily:
House passes bill expanding firearm storage requirement following fierce floor debate
By Tim Walker
Acknowledging no single law is going to prevent all tragedies, Rep. Jamie Becker-Finn (DFL-Roseville) nonetheless urged passage of a firearms storage bill she sponsors in the hope that fewer kids may die from gun accidents.
Existing laws on firearm storage would be expanded to specify that a person must either store a firearm unloaded and equipped with a locking device or store the firearm in a firearm storage unit.
Following a discussion that lasted more than 11 hours, the House passed HF4300, as amended, 68-64 late Thursday and sent it to the Senate.
The goal of the bill is to change unsafe gun behavior, said Becker-Finn, who spoke of growing up around guns and has a great respect for the rules on handling them safely.
That means keeping guns out of the hands of children who don’t understand the power they have, she said.
“I’m no stranger to guns,” she said. “I teach my kids how to be safe around guns, that’s my responsibility as their parent and as an adult.”
Republicans argued, in part, the bill would infringe on Second Amendment rights and would make homeowners less safe in their own residence.
Government shouldn’t be able to reach into our own home and tell us we can’t have our constitutionally given right, said Rep. Ben Davis (R-Merrifield). “(A homeowner should) decide how they are going to store their firearms in their own home.”
It is now a gross misdemeanor crime to store or leave a loaded firearm in a location where the person knows, or should know, that a child is likely to gain access to the firearm, unless the person takes “reasonable action” to prevent a child from accessing the firearm.
This bill would delete the reasonable action standard and replace it with specific actions required of gun owners. It would be a crime to store, keep, or leave a firearm in any place unless the firearm is unloaded and equipped with a locking device; or loaded or unloaded in a locked firearm storage unit or a locked gun room.
An acceptable locking device would include, but not be limited to, a biometric lock, trigger lock, barrel lock, or cylinder lock.
Becker-Finn said these provisions are in line with good firearm storage procedures that all responsible gun owners follow.
Graduated penalties, exceptions
Penalties would range from a petty misdemeanor to a felony. The highest penalty – a felony with up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine – could be imposed if an unsecured firearm is used in a felony crime of violence or to inflict substantial or great bodily harm on, or to cause the death of, someone other than the owner or authorized user of the firearm.
A person found guilty of gross misdemeanor negligent storage of firearms, would be prohibited from possessing a firearm for three years.
Safe storage requirements would not apply to inoperable antiques or replicas, plus those firearms:
- used at a high school shooting sport event;
- used at an area or facility designated or operated primarily for the use of firearms, or at a shooting preserve; and
- owned or possessed by a peace officer while the officer is engaged in the performance of official duties or stored in a police or sheriff station.
Becker-Finn successfully amended the bill to add exceptions for firearms used at a lawfully organized educational or instructional course on firearm safety; or being used when following state laws while hunting.
Republican objections, amendments
Republicans had several objections, including that many provisions are too vague and would therefore make it difficult for a court to interpret them and a responsible gun owner to comply with them.
Rep. Anne Neu Brindley (R-North Branch) objected to vagueness of a provision establishing a gross misdemeanor penalty for a person not adhering to the storage rules “if a child is present in the area where the firearm is stored, kept, or left.”
“If a child is ‘in the area’ — I don’t know what that means. Is it within five feet, is it the room, is it in the house, is it in the neighbor’s house?”
Rep. Paul Novotny (R-Elk River) unsuccessfully offered an amendment to exempt firearm storage requirements “if the violation occurs as a result of an unlawful entry.”
“I don’t want to, once again, victimize somebody who is a crime victim,” he said.
Becker-Finn said someone following the provisions in the bill would not be liable in that situation.
Several other Republican-offered amendments were not adopted, including those that would have:
- added firearms owned or possessed by a person who fears imminent danger from a family member to the list of firearms exempted from the proposed changes in law;
- added victims of harassment with restraining orders or protection orders to the list of individuals exempted from the proposed changes in law; and
- kept existing law unchanged, but expand a negligent act subject to penalties to include allowing firearms to come into the possession of a person prohibited from possessing them.
And there's this--long day:
Tougher penalties for firearm straw purchases pass House overnight
By Tim WalkerA straw purchase occurs when an individual buys a firearm for someone ineligible to purchase or possess it.
Rep. Kaela Berg (DFL-Burnsville) sponsors a bill that would increase the penalty for that action, making the crime a felony. It is currently a gross misdemeanor.
Berg and supporters have said they hope HF2609 will prevent tragedies such as the Feb. 18 shooting in Burnsville, when a man killed three local first responders arriving at a domestic abuse call. The killer was legally prevented from possessing firearms, but the two AR-15-style firearms he used were allegedly obtained from straw purchases made by his girlfriend.
The House passed the bill by a 71-59 vote early Friday. It now goes to the Senate.
“This common-sense legislation is an important step in keeping guns out of the hands of people who want to harm themselves or others, and to help protect our first responders,” Berg said in a statement.
In addition to the upgraded penalty, the bill would expand current law prohibiting straw gun purchases of pistols or semi-automatic military-style assault weapons and have it apply to any type of firearm.
An aggravated violation — using an illegally transferred weapon within one year in a felony crime of violence — would be a felony punishable by up to five years imprisonment and up to a $20,000 fine under the bill.
Proposed ban on binary triggers
Since last year, trigger activators have been illegal under state law. This bill would add to the ban binary trigger devices that allow a semiautomatic gun to fire more than one shot with a single pull and release of a trigger.
“There is no use for a binary trigger,” said House Majority Leader Jamie Long (DFL-Mpls).
Several Republicans expressed their support for strengthening penalties on straw gun purchases but said the provision banning binary devices raised Second Amendment issues and are a poison pill in an otherwise good bill.
Rep. Paul Novotny (R-Elk River) unsuccessfully offered an amendment to delete the binary trigger provisions. It was defeated 67-65, largely along party lines.
Public safety personnel
Rep. Jeff Witte (R-Lakeville) successfully offered an amendment to Novotny’s amendment that would impose a sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a $40,000 fine if the transferee “possesses or uses the weapon in furtherance of an assault of a public safety officer or any other offense that causes bodily harm to a public safety officer.”
“Straw buyers should face the consequences of their action,” Witte said.
Rep. Kelly Moller (DFL-Shoreview) chairs the House Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee and voted for the amendment, which was approved 113-19. But because it was added to the binary trigger language she voted against the underlying amendment.
“I really wish you would have done this as a separate amendment,” she said.
Here's the Minnesota House Information Services YouTube of the debate on HF2609:
Photos: Above: Rep. Jamie Becker-Finn introduces HF4300 on the House Floor May 2. The bill would establish new storage standards for firearms. Below: Rep. Kaela Berg answers a reporter’s question about HF2609 during a news conference April 29. The bill would increase penalties for straw purchases for firearms; it passed the House early May 3. Photos by Michele Jokinen, Session Daily.
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