Establishing a Permit to Purchase Firearms Fails

An effort by Senator Ron Latz, DFL-St. Louis Park, to establish a permitting process to purchase a firearm failed to win support of the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee Tuesday, April 17. Latz offered his proposal as an amendment to the omnibus judiciary, public safety and corrections supplemental appropriations bill, and it failed on a 3 to 6 vote.

Under Latz's proposal, a background check would be required on persons securing a permit in an effort to prevent people with criminal records from acquiring a firearm. "We've screened out those who have convictions for violent felonies, those who have received civil commitments for mental illness, those who have other prohibited criminal backgrounds, domestic violence convictions...it just seems to me that the only way to find out if they're trying to buy a gun is if they get a background screening, otherwise it's a complete shot in the dark," he said.

In opposing the amendment, Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Chair Warren Limmer, R-Maple Grove, said, "There seems to be an impression that the legislature is doing nothing in response to some of the gun violence we've seen in this country. That would be a misnomer. The issue seems to be divided into two areas. The first issue is the safety of our students in our schools, and the other one is a wider agenda that's been around this legislative body for a good thirty years, and that's gun politics," he said.