St. Paul City Council hears residents’ thoughts on city ordinance aimed at restricting guns
By Ashley Grams
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MINNESOTA (WCCO) — The St. Paul, Minnesota, City Council turned the mic over to residents on Wednesday, with over a dozen people sharing their thoughts on a city ordinance aimed at restricting guns.
“This is common-sense gun legislation,” said City Council President and Ward 2 Council member Rebecca Noecker.
Noeker is one of the ordinance’s sponsors and Wednesday marked its second time before the council. The proposed ordinance would ban public possession of assault weapons, large capacity magazines and binary triggers. It would require all guns to have serial numbers and restrict firearms in some public spaces like parks and libraries, require public facilities to inform residents of the new restrictions and define enforcement style and penalties.
There would be exceptions for active-duty law enforcement and military personnel, as well as licensed federal firearms curators and those transporting guns through the city.
The main hurdle, however, is Minnesota’s preemption law, which blocks cities from creating their own gun ordinances.
Noeker acknowledged the preemption law, saying the City Council sees this as a way to put pressure on state lawmakers.
“It’s really important for two reasons: One, to show what the City Council’s values are, what the city of St. Paul believes is acceptable and unacceptable,” Noeker said. “It’s also important to pressure the legislature to take that action.”
Rob Doar from the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus says they plan to file a lawsuit, citing state statute 471.633, which reads, “Local regulation inconsistent with this section is void.”
“There’s a lot of things the city can do in order to try to mobilize action,” Doar said at the meeting Wednesday. “The one thing you can’t do is pass an ordinance that violates state law.”
Noeker says the city is ready for that legal challenge and believes the council is within its rights to pass it.
“I feel very strongly that we have unanimous support for this ordinance,” she said.
Noeker says there’s still time for residents to share their perspective on the ordinance before council members vote on the matter next week.
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