The good news in Minnesota is that no matter how much Gov. Tim Walz wants certain gun control laws on the books as quickly as possible, he’s likely to be disappointed, at least in the short term.
And while Minnesota isn’t exactly a pro-gun Mecca these days, it’s got one important law on the books that no one has removed as of yet. It’s a preemption state.
That means that there are ways to get local gun control, but they have to go through the state legislature, and that’s just as unlikely to pass as statewide anti-gun measures.
But it seems some candidates in the Twin Cities think they can work around that just the same.
The top candidates to become mayor in Minneapolis and St. Paul diverge on many key issues, but not gun control. All of them support a ban on assault-style weapons, and polling suggests voters agree.
One major obstacle stands in the way: a 40-year-old state law that prohibits local governments from regulating firearms. “That will make it very hard to enact local gun control laws,” said Jason Marisam, associate professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law.
But it’s not stopping city leaders from trying.
Minnesota is one of more than 40 states to have “passed broad firearm preemption laws that specifically prohibit local governments” from adopting gun regulations, according to Everytown USA, a national group that advocates for stricter gun control.
In early September, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, both of whom face reelection in November, stood with several suburban mayors at the Capitol and called for state legislators to allow cities to enact their own gun control ordinances.
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“However, if the state Legislature won’t act, cities should be allowed to take action on their own, which we are currently unable to do,” Olstad said. She was unaware of any specific ordinances under consideration at Minneapolis City Hall.
St. Paul isn’t waiting, though its elected leaders and legal staff recognize the limits of their power.
City Council President Rebecca Noecker said the city attorney’s office is developing a gun regulation ordinance with “trigger language,” meaning it would take effect immediately if the state Legislature repeals or amends the preemption law.
“It’s common sense to have this ready to go when the Legislature lifts preemption,” Noecker said.
And, with trigger language, no one is likely to have standing to challenge the law before such an event, though I’m not so sure that removing preemption is going to be an easier sell than the assault weapon ban proposal that keeps being thwarted left and right.
To be fair, this is about the only way to legally bypass preemption. They know that anything they do now will lead to a lawsuit, then a fight in the courts about preemption, which they’ll likely lose, even if the state attorney general is on their side. The laws have been found to be constitutional in literally every other state where a challenge has arisen, so it’s unlikely Minnesota will be any different.
The thing about preemption, though, is that it creates a unified set of laws that everyone in the state already knows. They don’t need to learn about all the local ordinances in Minneapolis for the day trip they’re taking to visit a museum or something. They already know the rules.
But large urban centers often think they’re special, that people’s rights don’t really apply there, and they should be free to curtail them whenever they want. They claim it’s about safety, but we’ve seen what many of these mayors really think about safety.
It’s clear that preemption is going to be a battle in the Minnesota legislature next session.
Dig in for it, folks.
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