Minnesota’s House Flipped. Gun Control Is Already on the Agenda.

The day after Minnesota’s election, Governor-elect Amy Klobuchar said the gun package that stalled in the Legislature this spring “is going to get passed” and “certainly should be one of our top priorities.” That was November 4. The new Legislature hadn’t even been sworn in, and the governor-elect was already talking about reviving a specific package of firearm restrictions.

In Has Texas fallen?, I wrote about the firearm restrictions Texas lawmakers prefiled on November 9, including a bill restricting certain semiautomatic firearms for adults under 21. Minnesota gives us a second example of how quickly this issue surfaced after the election. In Texas, lawmakers filed new bills. In Minnesota, the incoming governor pledged to revive a package that already passed one chamber. And in Minnesota, the election changed the votes that kept that package from moving.

What the Minnesota Senate already passed

SF 4067 passed the Minnesota Senate on May 4 by a 34–33 party-line vote. The House, split 67–67, never voted on it. The incoming House is projected to have a 77–57 Democratic–Farmer–Labor majority, and the incoming Senate a 39–28 DFL majority. Klobuchar won the governor’s race, while Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan won Minnesota’s U.S. Senate race. Any successor to SF 4067 would be a new bill in the 2027 session. The May vote tells us what Senate Democrats were already willing to pass.

The Senate-passed bill would have barred licensed dealers from selling firearms covered by its expanded definition of a “semiautomatic military-style assault weapon,” along with magazines that hold more than 17 rounds, subject to specified exceptions. It would have required owners to obtain state certification to keep covered firearms and magazines, with limited private transfers still possible under new rules. The same package addressed firearm storage, extreme-risk protection orders, school safety, and mental-health funding. If lawmakers want to fund school safety, they can bring that up for its own vote. Why should that funding travel with a bill requiring Minnesotans to get state certification to keep firearms and magazines they already own? Senate-passed text of SF 4067

What comes first when the session opens?

Klobuchar has also talked about building more housing, reforming permitting, and holding the line on tax increases. What struck me about her post-election remarks was how specific she could already be about firearms. There was a package on the shelf, a recorded Senate vote, and a pledge to get it passed. That comes across as a higher priority than Minnesotans who are worried about rent, property taxes, and utility bills and what lawmakers plan to do for them.

The Supreme Court gets to hear the issue first

The Supreme Court still has Viramontes v. Cook County and Grant v. Higgins scheduled for joint argument on December 2. Cutberto Viramontes moved to dismiss himself from the case, and Cook County has argued that its case is moot. Grant, which challenges Connecticut’s ban, gives the Court another route to address restrictions on commonly owned semiautomatic firearms. A broad ruling against those bans could make a Minnesota successor bill harder to defend. How much it would affect the magazine provision would depend on what the Court says and how broadly it rules.

Texas had firearm restrictions on file six days after the election. Minnesota’s incoming governor was talking about passing hers the next day. When Minnesota lawmakers return to St. Paul, I’ll be watching whether they bring that same urgency to the cost of living.