Minnesota State Senator Proposes Assault Weapon Ban, Restrictions on Current Owners
The legislation would essentially "grandfather in" those who currently own such firearms - but that ownership comes with a lot of supervision.
ST. PAUL, MN (KVRR) – State Senator Matt Klein has been representing the 53rd District since 2017 – and he’s been speaking out about gun violence pretty much from the start.
“30,000 people in America every year die of gun violence. It’s clearly a health problem that we are not addressing with the seriousness that we should,” he said in a 2018 interview.
On Monday, he made perhaps his boldest move on that front yet, introducing SF 4290, which essentially seeks to ban the sale or acquisition of “semiautomatic military-style assault weapons” in Minnesota.
Additionally, those who already have the weapons who want to keep them would be required to obtain certification from the state and allow law enforcement to enter their home and make sure they’re being stored correctly.
This latter provision seems to have particularly raised the ire of pro-gun groups.
“You have to allow the police to inspect your home without a warrant. You can’t carry your magazines anymore that hold more than 10 rounds. You can only possess these firearms and magazines at your home,” said Bryan Strawser, chairman of the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, in a Facebook video.
Senator Ron Latz, who led the Gun Violence Prevention Working Group in 2025, says he feels a ban of this type makes some sense, and that measures should be undertaken to prevent violent people from accessing deadly firearms.
“How do we reduce gun violence? Part of it is keeping firearms out of the hands of people that would use them in a bad way,” he said.
All five of the bill authors are members of the Minnesota DFL – only time will tell if they can get any Republican state legislators on board with such a drastic plan.
So far, the bill has just been introduced, then referred to the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee, who have not yet discussed the matter.
