(ST. PAUL, MN) – Safety for all Minnesotans is at the top of the agenda today, as Senate Republicans roll out a violence prevention agenda focused on real solutions to the recent increase in violent crime in our state. The series of violence prevention bills will maximize the effectiveness of existing laws and encourage local governments to add more police on streets, trains, and busses. Additionally, they will close loopholes to give prosecutors and judges better tools to take dangerous criminals off the street. 

“The goal of our violence prevention package is to protect Minnesotans and prosecute criminals,” said Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka (R-East Gull Lake). “Caring about families begins with keeping them safe.”

“As murder rates rise in the Twin Cities, we have to make violence prevention a priority,” said Senator Andrew Mathews (R – Milaca). “The state needs thriving central cities to maintain the great quality of life our citizens have today. That means more police in Minneapolis-St. Paul, common-sense changes to current statute, removing loopholes, and taking measures to better protect law-abiding citizens.”

Many of the bills will be heard in committee this week, including the Judiciary and Public Safety, Transportation and Tax Committees. Several violence prevention bills received initial hearings and public feedback during the interim in St. Paul and Hibbing. 

“The proposals in this package should have bipartisan support because they focus on one thing – making our communities safer,” said Judiciary and Public Safety Chairman Sen. Warren Limmer (R-Maple Grove). “We are not bringing forward extreme ideas today because those bills lack bipartisan support and ultimately will not help us meet the goal of keeping families safe.”

The first two proposals received an initial public hearing in January 2020 and will make sure guns are kept out of the wrong hands. 

Senate File 2101 requires the courts to hold a compliance hearing within ten business days of issuing a protective order to make sure all firearms have been removed. Individuals subject to orders for protection are required to surrender firearms within three days of the order. However, there is currently no process in place to ensure compliance, and it has been generally low across Minnesota.

“This is about getting at the issue of compliance. These are people who have already been ordered by a court to surrender their firearms. We want to make sure they’re actually doing it,” said Senator Eric Pratt (R-Prior Lake). 

Senate File 2596 increases the penalty for intentionally transferring a firearm to a known criminal from a gross misdemeanor to a felony. The bill deals with “straw purchases” and is a response to local prosecutors who testified they do not prosecute these crimes because of the lower penalty. 

“Protecting Minnesotans starts with punishing criminals. I want to send a message that illegally transferring a firearm is a serious offense. If we want to be serious about preventing violence, we need to enforce the laws that are already on the books,” said Senate author Paul Anderson (R-Plymouth).

SF3865 brings Minnesota into compliance with federal law when issuing a permit to carry license so someone who is not authorized to carry a firearm under federal law is not getting a permit to carry.

“This is a simple change to the law to make sure our permit-to-carry application complies with federal law. By asking these simple questions right on the application, we are making sure all firearms transfers are done in the safest manner possible,” said Senator Andrew Lang (R-Olivia). “This is really a common-sense change to the law that ensures that someone who is not authorized to carry a firearm under federal law is not getting a permit to carry.”

SF 3573 amends our state’s law to clarify Minnesota’s drive-by shooting crime as any shooting taking place from a moving vehicle. The legislation is a response to a 2013 Minnesota Supreme Court decision that narrowly defined the definition to only classify drive-by as in front of a building. 

“This commonsense legislation removes loopholes for criminals in our system and ensures that we can protect Minnesotans and prosecute offenders,” said Senator Bill Ingebrigtsen (R- Alexandria). “When criminals drive-by recklessly discharging a firearm, they shouldn’t be able to get off on a lesser charge because of a technicality such as them not shooting close enough to a “building” or a “car.” This legislation ensures that people who mean harm onto others face the repercussions.”   

 
SF 1458 prohibits mayors, city councils, county boars, and chief law enforcement officers from disarming peace officers who are in good standing and not currently under investigation or subject to disciplinary action. 

“The overwhelming majority of our state’s peace officers are hard-working, trustworthy folks who make it their life’s work to help keep the people of Minnesota safe. Yet some authorities want to disarm our officers and invite further violence into our communities,” said Senator Ingebrigtsen. “With homicide rates rising across the state, this common-sense legislation ensures that Minnesota doesn’t treat its peace officers as suspects just because they are off duty.”