- Current Minnesota law does NOT require people who buy guns in private sales to undergo background checks or present transfer permits.
- 2,270 gun sales were denied in MN in 2021 under the current system that doesn’t require background checks.*
- Comprehensive background checks would prevent prohibited buyers from purchasing a gun. This legislation would close the loophole that allows those who can’t legally purchase a gun from doing so anyway from a private dealer.
- Studies show that permit-to-purchase requirements in addition to background checks are associated with a reduction in gun violence.**
- Studies have shown that in Connecticut, a state that has a permit-to-purchase law, firearm homicides have decreased by 40% and suicide rates have decreased by 15% because of these laws.
- A combination of these two laws helps monitor and keep guns out of the hands of those who shouldn’t be in possession of them.
- These policies can and do save lives in the states in which they are adopted: Minnesota can do the same.
Sources
*2020-2021 NICS Operations Report. (2020). Federal Bureau of Investigation. https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/nics-2020-2021-operations- report.pdf/view (2,270 denials in 2021)
**Rudolph, K. E., Stuart, E. A., Vernick, J. S., Webster, D. W. (2015). Association Between Connecticut’s Permit-to-Purchase Handgun Law and Homicides. American Journal of Public Health. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2015.30270320
Crifasi, C. K., Meyers, J. S., Vernick, J. S., & Webster, D. W. (2015). Effects of changes in permit-to-purchase handgun laws in Connecticut and Missouri on suicide rates. Preventive Medicine, 79, 43–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2015.07.013
