Dear Advocate:

Thank you for contacting me regarding House File 953. As the author of this legislation, I want to clearly dispel the misinformation that surrounds this proposal.

This bill is good policy. Since this legislation was first introduced last year, I have worked with opponents and proponents to resolve any outstanding issues and allay any concerns that law abiding gun owners and sellers have about the intent of the bill. I also worked with law enforcement officials who are concerned about this loophole in our background check law. HF 953 addresses many concerns brought forth by sportsmen, gun dealers, and privacy rights advocates. Let me tell you how this bill does NOT infringe upon your second amendment rights and let me tell you what it does do.

Most importantly, every individual who can legally purchase a pistol or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon in Minnesota will still be able to DO so if this bill passes. This bill simply closes an unintended loophole in our background check provisions. Under current federal and state laws, persons convicted of a felony, those convicted of a domestic assault, and people with SERIOUS mental health problems are not allowed to purchase or possess pistols or semiautomatic military-style assault weapons. Under current law, anyone purchasing a pistol or semiautomatic military-style assault weapons must have a background check to ensure they aren’t disqualified from possessing this kind of firearm. The loophole is, that people can purchase pistols and semiautomatic military-style assault weapons from unlicensed sellers without obtaining
a background check.

House File 953 DOES the following:

HF 953 DOES keep the current law in place. The same requirements that buyers now follow when they buy a pistol or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon from a licensed dealer, like Gander Mountain, would be applied when they buy a pistol or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon from an unlicensed seller, at a gun show, or on the internet.

HF 953 DOES help enforce the legislative intent of current law.
Individuals who have lost their eligibility to purchase a pistol or semiautomatic military-style assault weapons still have avenues in the current system allowing them access to guns. HF 953 simply requires a background check. This is already standard for most gun sales in Minnesota, when a sale is conducted by a licensed dealer and includes pistols or semiautomatic military-style assault weapons.

HF 953 DOES help law enforcement. The Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association supports this bill as do individual law enforcement agencies. Police officers recognize the danger of allowing people who are ineligible to possess a pistol or a semiautomatic military-style assault weapon to purchase these weapons without a background check.
Additionally, law enforcement agencies currently charge a fee for conducting background checks when an application is submitted to carry a pistol. However, law enforcement is not allowed by statute to charge a fee for conducting “permit to purchase” background checks. This is an important task for law enforcement agencies and they are asked to conduct thousands of checks per year. HF 953 sets a maximum fee at cost, plus $5.00.

House File 953 DOES NOT do the following:

HF 953 DOES NOT establish gun registration. The background check, set forth in this bill, only determines if a buyer is legally allowed to purchase a pistol or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon. It does not require buyers to register individual purchases with law enforcement. It uses the existing FBI instant background check system, which does not connect a purchase of a weapon to a purchaser. After conducting an instant background check on a gun buyer, the FBI is required by law to destroy its record within 24 hours. Only the licensed dealer maintains the record of the sale. Existing law allows people to voluntarily leave a record of a gun sale with local police--this bill does not change that.
The second paragraph in the bill (which in legislative language is called a repealer) also does nothing to change existing law - it is only the removal of a duplication of sec. 11 subd. 8.

HF 953 DOES NOT affect hunters. Private sales of rifles, like kitchen table trades, are not affected by this legislation. Sales at gun shows would be treated the same way as sales of pistols and semiautomatic military-style assault weapons from licensed dealers at sporting goods stores.

HF 953 DOES NOT affect transfers among family members.

Let me reiterate, HF 953 does not affect law abiding Minnesotans from purchasing these weapons. Only people who are already disqualified from buying pistols or semiautomatic military-style assault weapons would be prevented from making a purchase if a background check determined they were ineligible. Most people who sell pistols and semiautomatic military-style assault weapons at gun shows are licensed dealers-this bill does not affect them.

It is unfortunate that misinformation about HF 953 continues to be sent out to law-abiding Minnesotans. I have worked with law enforcement on behalf of crime victims for over twenty-five years and my only intent with this bill is to make our communities safer. I urge you to read the bill and draw your own conclusions. Reasonable people can disagree, but I think that you will find that this bill in no way infringes upon your second amendment rights. I have no illusions that criminals will continue to get their hands on pistols and semiautomatic military-style assault weapons. It is my hope, that this bill (even in a small way) will plug a loophole in our current law, so we can keep dangerous weapons out of the hands of dangerous people.

Sincerely,


Michael Paymar
State Representative


Michael Paymar
Chair, Public Safety Finance Committee

Minnesota House of Representatives
543 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, MN 55155
office: 651-296-4199
rep.michael.paymar@house.mn

Here's what I got from Paymar this morning. What a load of bullshit:

HF 953 DOES NOT establish gun registration.

6.1 Subd. 10a. Record keeping. All reports of transfer shall be maintained in a manner,
6.2as determined by the Department of Public Safety, that facilitates efficient crime gun
6.3tracing and ensures that the records are available for all lawful purposes, including being
6.4available to federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies for purposes of civil or
6.5criminal law enforcement investigations.

HF 953 DOES NOT affect hunters.

Let me reiterate, HF 953 does not affect law abiding Minnesotans from purchasing these weapons.

affect: to produce an effect upon: as a: to produce a material influence upon or alteration in

Quote:
HF 953 DOES NOT establish gun registration.


Section 12, Subd 10a certainly seems to indicate otherwise.:

Quote:
6.1 Subd. 10a. Record keeping. All reports of transfer shall be maintained in a manner,
6.2as determined by the Department of Public Safety, that facilitates efficient crime gun
6.3tracing and ensures that the records are available for all lawful purposes, including being
6.4available to federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies for purposes of civil or
6.5criminal law enforcement investigations.

Rep. Paymer

Let's be honest, HF953 will not reduce homicides or violent crime.
This is just another bill aimed at harassing legitimate purchases of
firearms by law abiding citizens and adding fees to the purchase.

There is no "gun show loophole". Criminals do not obtain the the guns they use in the commission of their crimes from public venues such as gun shows. You don't have to take my word for it. A 2008 empirical study by University Criminologists found no evidence that gun shows lead to substantial increases in either gun homicides or suicides. In addition, tighter regulation of gun shows does not appear to reduce the number of firearms-related deaths.
In addition, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms finds that less than 1 in 50 guns acquired by acquired by criminals come from gun shows or private resales. And virtually all of that tiny number comes from “strawman purchases” made by accomplices who can pass any background check.

Also by repealing subdivision 9 of 624.7131 making a valid carry permit no longer able to be used as a transfer permit wastes valuable law enforcement resources by requiring background checks on people who have already passed background checks (and more) in addition to forcing new transfer permit fees on people who have already paid $100.00 in fees in order to get the carry permit.

And while you say this is not a registration bill, subdivision 10a of your bill
states; Record keeping. All reports of transfer shall be maintained in a manner,as determined by the Department of Public Safety...
Allowing a government agency to maintain records of firearms transactions is de facto registration.

Any perceived "gunshow loophole" would already be covered by no less than four current Minnesota statutes: (1) 609.52 – Theft by the criminal himself, (2) 609.53 – Theft-once-removed by acquisition from a “fence;” (3) 609.66 subd. 1c – Receipt from an accomplice/strawman; and (4) 624.7141 – Transfer to an ineligible person.

This is, plain and simple, a gun control bill. Gun control laws have been proven nationwide and globally to be a dismal failure in reducing crime. You cannot pass a law to prevent crime. Criminals, by definition, do not obey laws. If one could prevent or reduce crime by passing a law then we would have no murders since homicide is a crime.

As a concerned citizen who treasures constitutional rights and the rights of a free people to engage in legitimate, legal sales of private property I ask that you withdraw this bill.

Thank You for your time,
Respectfully,