ST. PAUL, Minn. ― The Minnesota chapter of Moms Demand for Gun Sense in America, part of Everytown for Gun Safety, today applauded the announcement that among the first 10 bills introduced this year in the Minnesota House of Representatives will be:
- Legislation sponsored by Rep. Dave Pinto that would require criminal background checks on all Minnesota gun sales.
- A Red Flag bill sponsored by Rep. Ruth Richardson that would allow family members and law enforcement to petition a court for an Extreme Risk Protection Order temporarily restricting a person’s access to firearms when there is evidence that they pose a threat to self or others.
“Across party lines, the vast majority of Minnesotans support these policies, and if enough of us raise our voices, this will be the year we enact them,” said Erin Zamoff, volunteer chapter leader with the Minnesota chapter of Moms Demand Action. “Requiring background checks on all gun sales isn’t too much to ask. It’s common sense. We’re grateful to the lawmakers who have pushed to make Minnesota safer, and we’ll do all we can in the weeks ahead to urge their colleagues to join them.”
Polling conducted in 2018 by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune found that 9 in 10 Minnesotans support criminal background checks on all gun sales. Additional polling last year found 87 percent of Minnesotans support temporarily blocking a person from having guns if there are clear red flags.
Under current federal law, background checks are required only for gun sales by licensed firearm dealers. No background check is required for sales by unlicensed individuals, who can sell guns to strangers they meet online or at gun shows – with no background check, no questions asked, and no way to know whether the buyer is a criminal or otherwise prohibited from having guns. Twenty states have enacted background check laws to address this deadly loophole, but Minnesota has not.
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