Source report & NRT opinion
Feds sue MN, St. Paul and Minneapolis for 'unconstitutional' firearm purchase waiting period
Based on reporting by FOX 9.
Source preview
The federal government filed a lawsuit against the State of Minnesota, the City of Minneapolis and the City of St. Paul, arguing that the state's gun purchase waiting period and permit-to-purchase requirements violate the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Minnesotans.
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NRT commentary
How We See It
it took Minnesota's gun laws at face value and called them what they are. The lawsuit against the state, Minneapolis, and St. Paul challenges the waiting period and permit-to-purchase scheme as an unconstitutional burden on the Second Amendment. That's a bold move, but the facts back it up. Minnesota already requires a permit just to buy a handgun. Then it makes you wait. A law-abiding citizen can pass a background check, complete training, get the permit, and still leave the store empty-handed for days. At what point is that about safety, and at what point is it just making people prove they're worthy of a constitutional right?
The "cooling off" argument has always been a dodge. Criminals don't buy guns from licensed dealers and wait out a timer. They get them off the street, through theft, or from private sales that these same rules don't touch. All a waiting period does is slow down the person who wants to defend their home tomorrow, not next week. A waiting period is a tax on self-defense. It treats every gun buyer like a potential criminal until proven otherwise. That's not public safety. That's a presumption of guilt.
What's also telling is that the feds are going after the cities directly. Minneapolis and St. Paul have a habit of passing gun restrictions and letting the state handle the fallout. This time, the consequences come straight to City Hall. The Second Amendment doesn't have a waiting period exception. And it doesn't say you can get a permit only if the city council approves of your character. Law-abiding citizens shouldn't have to ask permission twice to exercise a right the Bill of Rights spells out in plain English.
This lawsuit is worth watching. If Minnesota loses, the whole "just a modest delay" argument goes down with it. And that's fine. The people who wrote the Second Amendment didn't say "well-regulated" and then sign off on bureaucratic foot-dragging. They meant what they said. The feds are finally holding the cities to it.
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