Public safety panel considers bill toughening penalties on straw gun purchases

With halting breath, Rep. Kaela Berg (DFL-Burnsville) spoke about the Feb. 18 shooting in her hometown when a man used two AR-15-style firearms to kill three local first responders.

The weapons were allegedly obtained from straw purchases made by the man’s girlfriend.

Berg sponsors a bill she says would help keep guns out of the hands of people who want to harm themselves or others, and help stop gun violence by making straw purchases of firearms a felony. It is now a gross misdemeanor.

A straw purchase occurs when an individual buys a firearm for someone ineligible to purchase or possess them.

“This bill is one more step we can take in addition to other actions taken by this committee to keep our families and law enforcement safe from gun violence,” she said. “This bill closes loopholes in current laws in order to hold offenders accountable.”

The House Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee laid over HF2609, as amended, Thursday for possible inclusion in a committee policy bill.

In addition to the upgraded charge, the bill would amend the crime to include the transfer of any firearm, not just a pistol or semi-automatic military-style assault weapon.

An aggravated violation would be a felony punishable by up to five years of imprisonment and a $20,000 fine.

Trigger bans

Since last year, trigger activators have been illegal under state law. This bill would add so-called “binary trigger” devices to that ban.

Binary devices allow a semiautomatic gun to fire more than one shot with a single pull and release of a trigger.

Several Republicans say the provision banning binary devices raises Second Amendment issues and should be in a separate bill.

Rep. Patricia Mueller (R-Austin) said the Republican caucus supports enhancing straw purchasing penalties but would have preferred the committee take up HF548. Sponsored by Rep. Peggy Scott (R-Andover) it dealt with only the transfer issue, including increased criminal penalties.

Berg said she included the binary device ban because charging documents in the February Burnsville shooting revealed one of the firearms used was equipped with such a device.