Empower State Agencies To Improve Oversight Of Local Industry

Guns being trafficked into or within Minnesota play a key role in violence inside the state. It is imperative that agencies with oversight of Minnesota’s 1,655 federally licensed gun dealers adopt strong safeguards.*
The US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) is considerably understaffed and paces well behind the inspection rate goal that has been set.
15 states and Washington DC have worked to close this inspection gap and create licensing requirements of their own. States with these requirements have seen 64% lower rates of gun trafficking.**
Minnesota could require gun dealers to obtain a license from the state to provide greater oversight of activities that would eliminate those acting negligently or maliciously. This would reduce gun trafficking within the state.***
*State Federal Firearms Listings | Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. (2023). Retrieved January 20, 2023, from Atf.gov website: https://www.atf.gov/firearms/listing-federal-firearms-licensees/state

Sources

**Dealer License Required. (2022, August 29). Everytown Research & Policy. https://everytownresearch.org/rankings/law/dealer-license-Required

Webster, D. W., Vernick, J. S., & Bulzacchelli, M. T. (2009). Effects of State-Level Firearm Seller Accountability Policies on Firearm Trafficking. Journal of Urban Health, 86(4), 525–537. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-009-9351-x

***Model Laws for a Safer America: Seven Regulations to Promote Responsible Gun Ownership and Sales. (2011, September). Issuelab.org. https://search.issuelab.org/resource/model-laws-for-a-safer-america-seven-regulations-to-promote-responsible-gun-ownership-and-sales.html (Model Laws D. Model Law Regulating Firearms Dealers and Ammunition Sellers)

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