REGIONAL — A proposal to ban so-called “ghost guns” stalled in committee last week, falling short on a tie vote and exposing a familiar divide over how far Minnesota should go in regulating homemade firearms.
Ghost guns are firearms without serial numbers, often assembled from kits or produced using 3D printers, making them difficult, and sometimes impossible, for law enforcement to trace.
HF3407, sponsored by Rep. Dave Pinto, DFL-St. Paul, would have prohibited the sale and possession of those weapons, restricted 3D printing of firearms, banned distribution of digital design files, and required serialization of privately made guns. Violations would have been treated as felonies.
Supporters framed the bill as a response to a fast-growing problem.
“Criminals know that if you want to commit a crime with a gun, get a ghost gun,” Attorney General Keith Ellison told the committee.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the lack of traceability is “unacceptable for law enforcement,” pointing to a sharp increase in ghost guns recovered in Minnesota in recent years.
In written testimony, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety said ghost guns “can prevent law enforcement from effectively tracing weapons used in a crime,” adding that requiring serial numbers would help investigators do their jobs.
National advocacy groups echoed that message. Everytown for Gun Safety described the weapons as “a unique and severe threat to public safety,” noting they allow prohibited individuals to obtain firearms while bypassing background checks and accountability.
Opponents pushed back just as forcefully, arguing the bill sweeps too broadly and targets lawful gun owners rather than criminals.
Anna Leamy, director of government relations and advocacy for the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, told the committee that Minnesotans have long been allowed to make their own firearms, calling it a historically lawful practice that the bill would effectively outlaw.
In written testimony, the group warned lawmakers the proposal “is not a narrow public safety measure” but instead “a sweeping criminalization of lawful conduct that directly conflicts with the Constitution and controlling Supreme Court precedent.”
They also argued that existing laws already address illegal gun use and trafficking.
“Existing law already prohibits possession by prohibited persons, trafficking, straw purchasing, and the use of firearms in violent crime,” the group wrote. “HF 3407 does not target criminals. It targets the people most likely to follow the law.”
In the end, the committee deadlocked 10-10 along party lines, leaving the proposal out of the broader public safety package now moving to the House floor.

Public safety package advances
While the ghost gun proposal and other significant gun violence prevention measures fell short, lawmakers moved ahead with a broader public safety policy package that bundles together a range of narrower changes into a single bill.
The omnibus public safety policy bill, HF3990, includes language from previously heard bills that had been laid over for possible inclusion. A dozen provisions were incorporated during a Tuesday meeting of the House Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee, with seven more added through amendment when the committee reconvened less than 24 hours later.
“This session especially, it’s extremely impressive to have a bill like this passing through a committee at this point in session,” said Rep. Dave Pinto, DFL-St. Paul.

What’s in the bill
The package focuses on statutory changes spanning criminal justice procedures, corrections policy, and consumer protections. Among the provisions included:
• Crime victims would have the right to object to plea agreements at the plea hearing and to be present at both plea and sentencing hearings.
• Law enforcement agencies using chemical irritants inside buildings would be required to provide notice identifying the substances used and whether specialized cleanup is necessary.
• Correctional facilities would be required to screen inmates for tuberculosis within 14 days of intake and annually thereafter.
• Threatening to distribute private sexual images without consent would be classified as a felony, carrying penalties of up to 15 years in prison.
• Individuals would not be eligible for supervised release until court-ordered restitution is paid.
• Theft involving gift cards would be prosecuted under the state’s organized retail theft statute.
The bill now moves to the full House for consideration.