ST. PAUL – Today, Senator Julia Coleman (R-Waconia) made a motion on the Senate floor to move SF 733 from committee, where it has sat for nearly a year, to the Senate’s General Orders, making it eligible for a future floor vote. The bill would make a straw purchase of a gun a felony under Minnesota law; currently the crime is a gross misdemeanor. The bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee with bipartisan support on last year, and sat in Finance Committee since March 23, 2023; Democrats never gave it a second hearing.
Today’s floor motion failed, with just one Democrat joining Republicans to put partisan politics aside and move the bill forward. Senator Coleman released the following statement after the vote:
“I’m glad to see my bill still has bipartisan support. I’m disappointed all but one Democrat showed they are more interested in playing partisan politics than joining me and their colleague to move this bill forward. Thirty-three Democrats stood together to block a bill they cloned last night – even the clone bill author wouldn’t put partisan politics aside and voted against advancing my bill today. If we want to get things done, we need to put off partisan politics and support bipartisan solutions.”
Coleman represents the family of Burnsville Police Officer Paul Elmstrand, one of three first responders killed with a gun purchased by a straw buyer last month.