MN issues permits to residents and non-residents....ergo, no residency requirement as such. Although, you must make application in person to the Sheriff of the county you reside. If possible, avoid Ramsey County (St. Paul).

Welcome!

Welcome to the board. Minnesota needs all the pro-gun people it can get so we're happy you'll be joining us. We have a great carry law here and hope to keep it that way, but it's a constant battle to maintain our rights.

Here's another board with many of the same members you'll see around these parts, but a few you won't: http://www.mnguntalk.com

The local carry community is great and many people on the boards are good friends in real life. I know I've met some terrific folks as a result of my membership here and at MNGunTalk. You'll have to join us at one of the monthly breakfasts and properly introduce yourself once you arrive. By the time you move here in late summer/early autumn, the steel shoot season will be winding down, but you should try to make it out for the last couple shoots as they're a great time.

If at all possible. If not, try to make it possible. Lawfully, that is, of course.

We'll definitely be in Ramsey Co to start out. We hope to buy a house within a year, and that will be wherever we decide is best for us, but our initial housing will be near my wife's work, which is St. Paul.

Why avoid Ramsey Co?

Because the sheriff there violates the law about issuance of permits with arrogance and, so far, impunity.

You can take your training and apply before relocating to Minnesota. Worth thinking about it.

Are you saying that I won't be able to get a carry permit at all from the sheriff in Ramsey Co?

Can I apply without physically being in MN for the training &/or application? I thought I had read that I couldn't. Do I have to provide a reason of some sort to whatever sheriff I apply with if I am not yet a resident?

Sorry for the barrage of questions, but this is obviously going to be a big deal for me. I'm almost certainly going to be living in Ramsey Co to start out, and I'm not going to be able to pick a different place to live just to get a permit.

I guess another way around it is to stick with a Utah permit & simply get a 'permit to purchase'. Are there any drawbacks to this should I find it difficult or impossible to get a MN permit? Will I be able to get a 'permit to purchase' from the Ramsey Co. sheriff???

Thanks

One item you asked about earlier yet was never asked about was the point of how many can you buy... technically in mn there is no state law regarding how many or how often you can buy, but there is the question about BATF notification about multiple purchases. While BATF requires notification regarding multiple buys of handguns, some places call in multiples of anything, just to cover their butts. Supposedly this is never retained, but then you can figure my take on that. spreading them out every 8 days avoids this, and several gun shops will tell you when you buy, lets spread these out a bit.

That said, This is a pretty outdoors minded state, with hunting and fishing being very big business as well as having in my mind of the best carry laws (thanks Kimberman) from a practical stand point.

Which area are you moving too? we can help as well with some ideas on places to buy a house, and that is one good thing about your moving here now, is the cost of houses has fallen and there are some seriously good deals on homes out there.

We're not in a position to be buying right away, so we'll be finding a place to rent initially. We're moving for my wife's job, so her income is set, but I don't really have a "career" so to speak. I've just done what I've had to to get the bills paid while my wife was getting her PhD, and I've actually been able to take a little while off since she got it, which has been nice. The end result though is that we don't have the cash to get a house right away. As soon as I get a secure income, that will be priority #1.

My wife's job is in St. Paul. Since we've only got one car right now, the plan is to move somewhere that is relatively close to her job, and on or very near to public transportation. This will give us the widest number of options as far as me being able to get to & from work, or allowing her to take the bus if absolutely necessary. I'd prefer she take the car, but we'll do what we have to to get settled in.

As for the multiple purchases - I have no plans on buying more than one gun at a time. It'll be as I get the cash together. But, a couple of the guns on my to-buy list aren't all that expensive, and I could probably swing 2-3 over a 2 month period. I just wanted to know if there was an official "1 gun per month" policy or some other such ridiculousness like I dealt with in CA. Thanks for the 'head's up' on multiple buys on the same day - I'll be sure to avoid that.

I don't think that's the case at all. Most qualified applicants DO get theirs. It's just that Sheriff Fletcher has seen fit to throw in more of his opinion and feelings into who gets permits than the law allows. What that means is, he's looking for anything that he can use to deny a permit.



not a problem at all. It gives folks here a chance to show what they know and to show you "Minnesota Nice".



A purchase permit is free, but it's only good for a year. Before getting a carry permit I always had a purchase permit just in case I found a sweet deal or the bug bit me.

For the purchase permit, you'd apply to the police dept in the city in which you live. They run a check and the chief signs off on it. It should take 7 days (as opposed to up to 30 days for a carry permit)

So the drawback is the time spent every year dropping off an application, then picking it up again.

So...to recap:
Carry permit: $100, 5 years, issued by Sheriff, up to 30 day wait,
Purchase permit: Free, 1 year, issued by CLEO, up to 7 day wait

I don't recall if it's been mentioned but a purchase permit is good for handguns and so-called "Assault Rifles"

The rate of permit denials is significantly higher in Ramsey county than any other county in the state. That said, plenty of people, myself included, have permits with Sheriff Bob Fletcher's name on them.

You'll want her to be careful with that. Public transportation has killed more people in Minnesota than carry permit holders have.

I don't know the total, but this article had the total at 5 back in November, and that's just with light rail. That doesn't count the bus fatalities.

Good to know. And thanks Lenny7 too - great info!

That said, Joel seemed to intimate that it is possible to get a MN carry permit without having to physically be there to do it. If that is possible, I'd love to do that, if for no other reason that to ensure that I can carry & buy guns there from day #1.

And as for "Minnesota nice"... Both my wife & I grew up in WI and have known plenty of folks from MN. Its been my experience that the only differences worth mentioning are that we are Packer & Badger fans, while you native Minnesotans, well, aren't.

Moving to MN should basically be like coming home, especially after living in CA (Berkeley no less!), TN (Knoxville), and MS (just south of Memphis - blech!) for the past 10 years. We're both very much looking forward to being there. Except for the snow / cold of course. Oh well - I'd rather deal with that than the threat of catastrophic earth quakes at any time like we had in the Bay Area & here in the mid-south!

Order of priorities:

1. Find a cheap, but still safe, place to live
2. Find me a steady job
3. Finish buying any guns I believe will likely be banned early in 2009
4. Buy a 2nd car

I'm pretty sure I'll be able to get all of these things taken care of in 2-3 months, 4 at the most. After that, no more public transportation, I promise!

I read the article you linked to and it looks like most, if not all of the deaths were probably the fault of the person who died. I've used a lot of public transportation in my life so I'm pretty well prepared for it. Like I said, I'd prefer to keep my wife off of it, but you know, we gotta do what we gotta do to get settled in... Thanks for the heads up!

If you plan to have kids, they'll get a much better education here than they would have in Mississippi.

Minnesota - 13th
Mississippi - 48th

http://www.morganquitno.com/edrank.htm


Glad to see you've got your priorities right!

I don't think so. Check out the MN BCA website, specifically, under the FAQ, it says That's a good site to check out. It should have the answers to any questions about the carry law (what we call the MCPPA, or MPPA for Minnesota Citizens Personal Protection Act) and it has a link to the law itself, 624.714