Gun Safety Laws: MN Gets 'C+' Grade From Giffords Law Center

MINNESOTA — Minnesota's gun safety laws are among the weakest and most permissive in the nation, according to a new report from the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

Minnesota received a "C+" grade for its gun safety laws in the center's annual gun law scorecard:

• Gun safety strength rate: 17 out of 50
• Gun death rate: 43 out of 50
• Gun deaths per 100,000: 8.9

What changed in 2020 in Minnesota:

• 10 percent increase in gun death rate
• No significant gun safety legislation passed

"Minnesota has enacted modest gun safety measures in recent years, but is still missing a number of lifesaving policies that can combat gun violence in the state," the report states.

"While the state prohibits most people subject to domestic violence court orders or convictions from owning guns, it does not require background checks on gun purchases between private individuals. In 2019, Minnesota had the eighth-lowest gun death rate in the country and exported crime guns at less than half the national rate. Examples of policies lawmakers in Minnesota could enact to save lives include requiring a permit to purchase a firearm, instituting point-of-sale background checks, and enacting an extreme risk protection order law."

What Minnesota does well, according to Giffords Law Center:

• Certain assault weapon restrictions
• Certain domestic violence gun laws
• Certain waiting period laws
• Certain open carry regulations
• Child access prevention laws
• Disarming procedures
• Partial handgun dealer regulation
• Ammunition sale regulation

What Minnesota is missing, according to Giffords Law Center:

• Universal background checks
• Gun owner licensing
• Extreme risk protection orders
• Large capacity magazine ban
• Strong concealed carry law
• Lost & stolen firearm reporting
• Community violence intervention funding
• Bulk firearm purchase restrictions

States with the highest grades in the report:

• California (A)
• New Jersey (A)
• New York (A-)
• Maryland (A-)
• Colorado (B+)

States with the lowest grades in the report:

• Iowa (F)
• Missouri (F)
• Montana (F)

View more from the report here.