What happened in the 2024 session
The DFL held the House, the Senate, and the governor’s office. They came for storage mandates, lost and stolen reporting, preemption, and carry. Only one gun control bill got through: a binary trigger ban buried in the tax bill. We took it to court, and it’s gone.
The short version
One bill passed. Everything else failed.
Archive. This page was last updated during the session on May 26, 2024. The “What happened next” section was added in November 2026.
The 2024 legislative session began on Monday, February 12. The DFL had a trifecta: a large majority in the House, a one-seat majority in the Minnesota Senate, and the governor’s office.
In 2023 they passed universal background checks and red flag gun confiscation orders. In 2024 they came back pushing for “safe” storage, lost and stolen reporting, magazine bans, a ban on semi-automatic firearms, restrictions on carry permits, and more.
Despite the trifecta, only a single gun control bill got through the Legislature: a ban on binary triggers, which also increased the penalty for straw purchases.
One bill
Passed
Binary trigger ban, effective January 1, 2025, folded into HF 5247, the omnibus tax bill. Struck down in 2025 by our lawsuit; final in 2026.
Everything else
Failed
“Safe” storage · lost and stolen reporting · preemption repeal · semi-auto ban · registration · mental health tests · gun owner licensing
Everything else
Also failed
Carry bans · magazine bans · 18-20 year old gun bans · liability insurance · library and rec center bans · transfer bans on semi-autos
Hearings and floor sessions
The 2024 fight, step by step
February 29, 2024
House Public Safety: HF 4300 and HF 601
Joint hearing with Children and Families. Both bills passed on voice votes.
March 12, 2024
House Public Safety: HF 2828 and HF 3672
The carry ban and the preemption repeal were laid over. No vote was taken.
April 18, 2024
Senate Finance: SF 4312 and SF 5153
Storage and the binary trigger ban passed on party-line voice votes. No public testimony.
April 24, 2024
House Ways & Means: HF 601 and HF 4300
Both bills passed on party-line roll call votes and headed to the House floor.
April 29, 2024
House floor: HF 601 passed 68-63
HF 2609 and HF 4300 were tabled at the last minute.
May 2, 2024
House floor: HF 2609 and HF 4300 passed
The trigger ban passed 71-59 and storage 68-64, after nearly 13 hours.
May 9, 2024
Senate floor: trigger ban passed 34-33
The Senate adopted and amended the House language in HF 2609.
The bills
Every bill that moved
Open a bill for what it did, every step it took, and our testimony.
Minnesota House
HF 601: mandatory lost and stolen reporting. Passed the House 68-63; died in the Senate.
What it does
- A “duty to report” the theft or loss of a firearm to law enforcement as soon as “practicable,” and no later than 48 hours after you knew or “should have reasonably known” of the loss or theft.
- Violations:
- A first violation is a fine (petty misdemeanor).
- A second violation is a misdemeanor.
- A third or subsequent violation is a gross misdemeanor.
- Reporting a firearm lost or stolen would have given immunity from prosecution under Minnesota’s storage laws.
What happened
- Heard and passed in House Public Safety on February 3, 2023.
- Heard in House Public Safety on February 29, 2024 and passed on a voice vote.
- Heard in House Ways and Means on April 24, 2024 and passed on a party-line vote.
- Passed the House 68-63 on April 29, 2024.
- Dead in the Senate as of May 9, 2024, for lack of DFL votes to move it.
- Our position: We opposed this bill.
- Bill text: HF 601 at the Legislature
Written and committee testimony
- Our 2023 press release on the House Public Safety hearings
- Our written testimony on HF 601 from 2023
- Our written testimony on HF 601 to House Public Safety, 2024
- Our written testimony on HF 601 to the April 24, 2024 House Ways and Means hearing
- No spoken testimony was allowed on HF 601 in 2024 because it had been heard in 2023.
HF 2609: binary trigger ban and straw purchase penalty. Passed inside HF 5247 and signed; struck down in court.
What it does
- Intended to ban “binary triggers.” Earlier language was broad enough that it might also have banned other trigger devices.
- Increased the penalties for transferring firearms to prohibited persons.
- Required a report from the BCA on gun trafficking investigations.
What happened
- Heard in House Public Safety in early April 2024.
- Received a rules waiver from the Rules Committee on April 11, 2024, because it was past the committee deadline.
- Scheduled for the House floor on April 29, 2024, but tabled at the last minute.
- Debated on the House floor on May 2, 2024 and passed 71-59.
- Debated on the Senate floor on May 9, 2024 and passed on a party-line vote of 34-33.
- Went to a conference committee the week of May 13.
- The conference committee version passed the House on the evening of Friday, May 17, with bipartisan opposition. No Republicans voted for it.
- In the last 90 minutes of session it was folded into HF 5247, the omnibus tax bill, and ramrodded through both houses.
- Signed into law by Governor Walz.
- Our position: We opposed this bill.
- Bill text: HF 2609 at the Legislature; final language in HF 5247
HF 2828: carry ban in government buildings and on government land. Laid over; dead.
What it does
- Would have let cities, counties, townships, and other local governments restrict carry in buildings and on land they own or lease.
- That means libraries, parks, recreation centers, government offices, and more.
- It would have created a patchwork of laws across the state that would be impossible to follow.
What happened
- Heard in House Public Safety on March 12, 2024 and laid over for future consideration. No vote was taken.
- Dead as of May 9, 2024, for lack of support.
- Our position: We opposed this bill.
- Bill text: HF 2828 at the Legislature
Written and committee testimony
- SVP Rob Doar and firearms instructor Craig Burris testified against HF 2828 at the March 12, 2024 hearing (the video is no longer online).
- Our written testimony from the March 12, 2024 hearing
HF 3672: state firearms preemption repeal. Laid over; dead.
What it does
- Would have removed all statewide firearms preemption in Minnesota.
- Local governments could have made their own permit laws, banned firearms and magazines, restricted carry however they chose, and decided how you store firearms in your home, including banning AR-15s and other commonly owned firearms.
- It would have created a patchwork of laws across the state that would be impossible to follow.
What happened
- Heard in House Public Safety on March 12, 2024 and laid over for future consideration. No vote was taken.
- Dead as of May 9, 2024, for lack of support.
- Our position: We opposed this bill.
- Bill text: HF 3672 at the Legislature
Written and committee testimony
- SVP Rob Doar and firearms instructor Craig Burris testified against HF 3672 at the March 12, 2024 hearing (the video is no longer online).
- Our written testimony from the March 12, 2024 hearing
HF 4300: “safe” storage. Passed the House 68-64; died in the Senate.
What it does
- This revised “safe storage” bill was different from the bill heard in 2023. It would have required firearms outside your direct physical control to be secured with a locking device or in a “locked firearm storage unit.”
- Unlike the 2023 bill, it did not require firearms to be stored unloaded and separate from their ammunition.
- Violations ranged from a gross misdemeanor to a felony, and could make you a prohibited person who may not possess firearms or ammunition.
What happened
- Heard in House Public Safety on February 29, 2024 and passed on a voice vote.
- Heard in House Ways and Means on April 24, 2024 and passed on a party-line vote.
- Scheduled for the House floor on April 29, 2024, but tabled at the last minute.
- Debated on the House floor on May 2, 2024 and passed 68-64.
- Dead as of May 9, 2024, for lack of support in the Senate.
- Our position: We opposed this bill.
- Bill text: HF 4300 at the Legislature
Written and committee testimony
- SVP Rob Doar testified against HF 4300 at the February 29, 2024 House Public Safety hearing (the video is no longer online).
- Our written testimony opposing HF 4300 to House Public Safety
- Our written testimony opposing HF 4300 to House Ways and Means
Minnesota Senate
SF 4312: “safe” storage. Passed two Senate committees; dead.
What it does
- This revised “safe storage” bill was different from the bill heard in 2023. It would have required firearms outside your direct physical control to be secured with a locking device or in a “locked firearm storage unit.”
- Unlike the 2023 bill, it did not require firearms to be stored unloaded and separate from their ammunition.
- Violations ranged from a misdemeanor to a felony, and could make you a prohibited person who may not possess firearms or ammunition.
What happened
- Heard in Senate Judiciary and Public Safety on March 22, 2024 and passed on a voice vote.
- Heard in Senate Finance on April 18, 2024 and passed on a voice vote.
- Dead as of May 9, 2024, for lack of support.
- Our position: We opposed this bill.
- Bill text: SF 4312 at the Legislature
SF 5153: binary trigger ban. Replaced by the House version, HF 2609.
What it does
- Banned possessing or selling binary triggers, in language broad enough that it might also have banned other trigger devices.
- Increased the penalties for transferring firearms to prohibited persons.
- Required a report from the BCA on gun trafficking investigations.
What happened
- Heard in Senate Judiciary and Public Safety on March 22, 2024 and passed on a voice vote.
- Heard in Senate Finance on April 18, 2024 and passed on a voice vote.
- On May 9, 2024, the Senate took up the House version (HF 2609) instead and passed it with amendments. See HF 2609 above.
- Our position: We opposed this bill.
- Bill text: SF 5153 at the Legislature
Bills from 2023 that had hearings
HF 396: “safe” storage (2023). Replaced by HF 4300.
What it does
- The 2023 storage bill. HF 4300 replaced it in 2024.
What happened
- Heard and passed in House Public Safety on February 3, 2023.
- Pending before House Ways and Means after that. It went no further; the 2024 effort moved as HF 4300.
- Our position: We opposed this bill.
HF 601: lost and stolen reporting (2023). Moved again in 2024.
What it does
- See HF 601 above.
What happened
- Heard and passed in House Public Safety on February 3, 2023, then moved again in 2024 (above).
- Our position: We opposed this bill.
In the Senate, no gun control bills beyond red flags and universal background checks were heard in 2023. No other gun bills moved in 2024. Hearing agendas usually come out about 72 hours ahead, so things can move very quickly; action alerts are the fastest way to hear when they do.
What happened next
We beat the one that passed
The binary trigger ban is gone. In February 2025 the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, represented by the Upper Midwest Law Center, sued Governor Walz and other state officials, arguing the omnibus bill violated the Minnesota Constitution’s single-subject clause. On August 18, 2025, Ramsey County Judge Leonardo Castro agreed, severed the binary trigger ban from the bill, and permanently enjoined it.
On May 26, 2026, the Court of Appeals affirmed that the ban was unconstitutionally enacted. It declined to strike the rest of the bill. The State did not seek review, so the ruling is final: binary triggers are legal in Minnesota.
They tried again in 2026. SF 4067 would have reenacted the ban retroactively to January 1, 2025. It passed the Senate 34-33 and died in the tied House. In 2027 there is no tie.
Video
Our recap of the 2024 session
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