PRESS RELEASE: MN Gun Owners Caucus sues the State of Minnesota over Frankenstein Omnibus Bill and its Binary Trigger Provisions

The Lawsuit Calls Out Violations of the Constitution’s Single Subject Clause, Noting Gun Regulations are Unrelated to the Operation and Finance of State Government

Today, the Upper Midwest Law Center (UMLC) filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus against Governor Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, and Superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Drew Evans, in their official capacities, because of the unconstitutional enactment of the “garbage” omnibus bill passed into law last session, which included making the possession of binary triggers a felony crime, even if they are not installed on a gun—a subject that has nothing to do with taxes or financing the state.

The many-subject omnibus bill–a combination of nine originally distinct omnibus bills–includes Article 36, which changes the law on binary triggers. In addition to Article 36, the bill includes numerous provisions completely unrelated to the bill’s subject, “the operation and financing of state government,” such as regulations on broadband, transportation network companies, health insurance, utility companies, abortion, and much more.

The lawsuit asks the Ramsey County District Court to strike the jumbo omnibus bill in its entirety for violating the Minnesota Constitution, arguing Governor Walz et. al. violated the Single Subject and Title Clause, Article IV, Section 17 by logrolling hundreds of unrelated laws into one colossal bill.

“This Frankenstein’s monster of an omnibus bill is the exact kind of fraud on the people of Minnesota that the Constitution aims to prevent, and that’s why it is critical we hold lawmakers accountable with this lawsuit,” said James Dickey, Senior Counsel at UMLC. “This is a clear violation of the single subject provision of the constitution. The Court should strike the whole thing.”

“In passing a sprawling, nearly two-thousand-page bill packed with provisions touching all corners of state government, the Minnesota Legislature blatantly violated the single-subject clause of our constitution,” said Bryan Strawser, Chair of the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus. “By doing so, they pushed through a gun control provision banning commonly owned firearm triggers in the session’s final minutes—without allowing any meaningful debate,” said Bryan Strawser, Chair of the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus.

For more information about this case, see the complaint.