ST. PAUL – House Democrats this week approved three anti-gun bills which state Rep. Jeff Dotseth, R-Silver Township, said will do more to make criminals out of law-abiding citizens than crack down on violent criminals.
The three bills include new laws on storage, requirements for reporting stolen firearms, and a new “trigger activator” definition that may render some commonly used guns illegal. These latest proposals follow last year’s changes Democrats enacted regarding universal background checks and red flag confiscation orders.
Dotseth said the bill regarding reporting stolen firearms wrongly criminalizes a victim of a crime if they do not report a firearm theft within a government-prescribed period of time. He indicated our state could do better to combat violent crime by stepping up efforts to enforce existing laws, with prosecutors who are willing to fully charge violent criminals and courts that stop turning dangerous people back out on the street with a slap on the wrist. Dotseth said the bill regarding reporting stolen firearms wrongly criminalizes a victim of a crime if they do not report a firearm theft within a government-prescribed period of time.
“I believe in holding criminals accountable when they break the law, supporting our law enforcement, and working to combat the disturbing rise in overdose deaths, car thefts, and other violent crime in our state,” Dotseth said. “We need to better enforce current laws to crack down on the real bad actors if we’re ever going to get serious about this. Unfortunately, Democrats in full control of the Capitol are more focused on forcing law-abiding citizens to jump through more hoops or risk becoming criminals. All these regulations are making it harder – and more legally hazardous – for law-abiding citizens to exercise their cherished Second Amendment rights.”
After passing the House along party lines, the three bills are now in the hands of the Senate, where Democrats have a one-seat majority. Dotseth said that means a senator who currently faces first-degree felony burglary charges could cast deciding votes on bills undermining people’s ability to defend themselves during a home invasion.
The bills House Democrats approved this week include:
- H.F. 4300: Requires a person to store a firearm that is not in the person’s direct control or within reach in a gun safe, gun room, or unloaded with a locking device. There are criminal penalties for failing to comply with the firearm storage requirements.
- H.F. 601: Requires firearm owners to report the loss or theft of a firearm to the local law enforcement agency within 48 hours of its loss and creates a penalty if a person does not report the loss within that timeframe.
- H.F. 2609: Includes bipartisan language House Republicans propose to increase penalties on straw buyers of firearms, but also features a controversial provision regarding the definition of a “trigger activator” that may impact some commonly used guns and render them illegal.
“I will always stand to protect our Second Amendment rights,” Dotseth said. “There are many better ways to better address violent crime that do not involve infringing upon law-abiding citizens.”
-30-