The St. Paul City Council unanimously approved an ordinance regulating firearms Wednesday, saying they want to be ready to put it in place if state law changes.
Minutes after, the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus filed a lawsuit against the city, as the group had said it would if the ordinance was enacted.
Last month, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and suburban mayors called again on the state to repeal a preemption law that bars cities and counties from regulating firearms, ammunition or their components.
St. Paul City Council members and other officials said they want to put in place local firearm-related ordinances to reduce violence since the Minnesota legislature and federal lawmakers haven’t taken action, particularly since the Aug. 27 shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis that killed two children and injured dozens more.
The St. Paul ordinance says it “is designed to take effect only upon the repeal, amendment, or judicial invalidation of state preemption laws that currently prohibit local regulation of firearms, ensuring legal enforceability while signaling the city’s readiness to act when empowered.”
At Wednesday’s City Council meeting, Vice President HwaJeong Kim said, “These measures are the least of what we can do to stop gun violence.”
Passing the ordinance “is not symbolic,” said Council President Rebecca Noecker. “… But it is us showing that we are ready to go.”
Bryan Strawser, chair pf the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, said in a Wednesday statement after the lawsuit was filed: “This illegal ordinance will immediately have a chilling effect on peaceable gun owners in our capital city.
“It’s unfortunate that the City Council and Mayor have chosen to waste taxpayer dollars defending a performative ordinance that clearly violates state law,” he continued.
City Attorney Lyndsey Olson said the city “is ready to defend our authority to prepare for swift public-safety action –while respecting the rights of responsible gun owners — if state preemption is ever lifted.
“Contingent ordinances are a common legal tool used in many areas of law, and despite the MN Gun Caucus’s strong rhetoric, they have not been found to violate state firearm preemption law,” she said.
City Council members on why they passed ordinance
City Council members spoke Wednesday of how they’d been personally affected by violence and threats.
Kim, who was elected in 2023, said she was stalked to her house that year.
“I opened the door to a stranger that was very demanding and accosting and the way that he was standing, I thought that I would be shot in my home on my own doorstep,” she said.
Over the summer, colleagues and friends were told to “shelter in place” when they were told that Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband had been fatally shot, and Sen. John Hoffman and his wife had been shot and wounded at their homes, Kim recounted.
City Council Member Saura Jost said, like many parents, she takes her child to school each morning.
“I give my son a hug and a kiss, and I tell him I love him and I say goodbye to him, knowing that there is a non-zero chance that I will not see him again,” she said. “Our children should not be tasked with protecting each other from gunfire, our healthcare professionals should not have to deal with the trauma of treating children who have been shot with these weapons of destruction.”
The City Council introduced the ordinance on Oct. 22 and, after a public hearing last week, passed it at Wednesday’s meeting.
More than 700 people from around the state emailed the city council, through an email template set up by the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, urging them to vote “no.”
Ten of the 14 people who addressed the City Council at last week’s public hearing spoke in favor of the ordinance.
The ordinance would:
• Ban the public possession of assault weapons, “large-capacity magazines, and binary triggers within city limits.” Binary triggers allow a semiautomatic weapon to fire both when the trigger is pulled and released, increasing its rate of fire.
• “Require all firearms to have serial numbers and prohibit untraceable ‘ghost guns.’”
• “Restrict firearms in sensitive public spaces including parks, libraries, recreation centers and city buildings.”
• “Mandate clear signage at public facilities to inform residents and encourage compliance.”
• “Establish penalties for violations and authorize enforcement by local public safety officials.”
Mayor Carter will sign the ordinance, his press secretary said.
Related Articles
Process over $250,000 reparations study splits St. Paul’s Black leaders
St. Paul mayor’s race: What voters say about Kaohly Her’s victory
St. Paul: Why do some streetlights remain out on Shepard Road, elsewhere?
St. Paul gun ordinance: From ‘100% against’ to strong support, City Council hears from residents
St. Paul City Council orders demolition of former CVS at Snelling-University
Leave a Reply