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St. Paul, MN – A bill passed by the Minnesota Senate Thursday would increase penalties for those who “straw purchase” firearms for those who legally can’t have them — including a Republican amendment for a 10 year prison sentence if the weapon is used against a peace officer.
But Republicans were unsuccessful in getting a ban on “binary triggers” removed from the bill.
Maple Grove Senator Warren Limmer says, “the word ‘confiscation’ comes to mind when I hear, turn them over.”
Senator Heather Gustafson of Vadnais Heights responds there’s a broader benefit to public safety and “he binary trigger has been used in several violent cases recently: Burnsville shooting, the Fargo shooting.”
One officer died in Fargo; two officers and a paramedic were killed in Burnsville.