Owning silencers in Minnesota

[Ranb]

I attended a meeting with Senator Pam Wolf on August 19th. We convinced her that the law banning silencer possession should be amended.

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=609.66
Silencer possession in MN is a felony; 5 years/$5000. The DNR is no longer allowed to possess silencers for wildlife control and the police are restricted to using them for emergency tactical response only. This does not appear to allow the police to use them for training. Licensed dealers are not exempt from the ban so this forces the police to obtain their silencers from out of state sources.

Senator Wolf is willing to sponsor a bill, but not until she has more support from her fellow Senators and from gun owners in general. So far support for a silencer bill from MN gun owners has been poor at best. Most MN gun owners I see on the internet in gun forums do not care or only care to complain and are not willing to actually make an appointment to speak to their legislators about a bill. Some MN gun owners have been outright hostile to the suggestion that Minnesotans should be allowed to own and use silencers.

Are there any MN gun owners here that want to own silencers? This is also being discussed on the AR15.com forum in the hometown section SilencerTalk.com and on MN Gun Talk. I am a former MN resident and plan on retiring there in 2023. I vacation in MN twice a year. I also helped amend the silencer use ban in WA.

Ranb

 

[mooner]

Although I would find it nice to be able to own silencers, it is not a top priority of mine, and there are bigger fish to fry in my opinion. Getting a castle doctrine through is wayyy up on the list, and we couldn't even get that one through the senate last session.

I suspect any laws of this nature in MN are going to need some support in the law enforcement community. From what my senator told me, law enforcement opposition was a big reason the castle doctrine was dropped. Another obstacle is our trust fund governor, and his solid NRA "F" rating. He is going to make it hard for anything pro gun to pass until 2014 (hopefully).

 

[Ranb]

I heard the exact same stuff from people in WA when I was working on the silencer bill there. I ignored them and worked on it anyway, now I can use the silencers I worked so hard to make on my lathe. It can be the same in MN, we just have to not quit before we start.

Ranb

 

[Prince Yamato]

I'm not from Minnesota, but I like to expand the number of places I could move to without having to give up my silencers. I say go for it. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Legalizing silencers is more palatable to politicians than most people think. When you educate them about silencers, they can repeat your spiel about hearing protection, which makes them look smart and "with it" to the public.

 

[coolluke01]

I live in MN and have been trying to find out how to get suppressors legalized. The term silencer is a misnomer and has a negative assassin connotation.

 

[Ranb]

What do your Senators and Representatives think about the word silencer? While I tend to use the word suppressor when I speak about them to legislators, some of them ask me if I am speaking of silencers since the word suppressor is a very broad term and even used in the medical profession.

Senator Wolf certainly had no problem with the word when I met with her earlier this year. Silencer and muffler are the legal terms used by the US code to define a gun noise reduction device, suppressor is not used as such. Therefore the word is not a misnomer but entirely suitable.

What progress has been made with the MN legislators so far this year? The only thing I have heard is that a bill was passed during the special session that allowed the DNR to use silencers again. It eliminated the July 1, 2011 sunset clause and reduces some of the red tape previously required.

I am hoping to meet with a few MN legislators while I am in MN on my Christmas break. Anyone else doing the same?

Ranb

 

[GMcBoozer]

I am glad this thread was bumped, thank you for your hard work so far Ranb. What should us Minnesotans do to help out?

 

[Ranb]

Write to your Representative and Senator. Ask them if they are willing to sponsor a bill that will allow civilians to own registered silencers. If they will sponsor a bill and push for it to get hearing, then great. If they say anything else like "I support the RKBA's" or "I have no objection to silencer ownership" or other stuff, but do not say they will work hard to make silencers legal then they are blowing smoke up your ass and are not willing to do what it takes to make silencer ownership legal for you.

If they do not have a plan to make silencers legal to possess, then you need to talk to them face to face. Call their aide (phone number is on their website) and make an appointment to speak to them. This is probably the only way to talk them into sponsoring a bill. Do not be discouraged if they are a Democrat or have anti-gun platform, you will need their support to get the bill passed.

If they are hesitant about supporting silencer possession, ask them what they hope to gain by keeping silencers illegal. Ask them why they think a person who pays a $200 tax and passes a background check would risk the loss of their freedom to commit a crime with them. Ask them why they think gun mufflers are a threat. If they think they are a threat, ask them to provide evidence to support the claim; something like actual violent crimes associated with silencers. There are very few crimes committed with silencers, much fewer still with registered ones.

Anytime they make a claim about why silencers are bad, ask them for evidence to back up their claims. No legislator ever made a claim against silencers that was true as far as I know. I have been told that silencers are illegal in the USA, illegal in my state, that making them legal to own would result in their being sold no questions asked at gun shows and other BS. It is up to you to educate them on silencers. If you do not, you can be sure that some anti-gun zealot will do doing it for you.

The issues are that MN is one of 12 states that do not allow civilian silencer possession. While most of the 12 states allow police military and licensed dealers to possess silencers, the police are only permitted to use them for emergency tactical operations. 609.66 defines what this means and it appears to not allow the use of suppressed firearms for training purposes, which makes no sense at all because silencers can change point of impact and operation of the firearm.

Since licensed dealers are not permitted to sell silencers to anyone, the police must obtain them from out of state sources.

I made a video on silencer ownership in MN here; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDiLl6mPsuw I can send a copy on DVD to anyone who wants to show their legislator.

The MN silencer issue is also being discussed at these forum threads;
http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_8_28/456179_Silencer_Legalization_Information_Pamphlet.html

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_8_28/4..._making_silencer_possession_legal_in_MN_.html

http://www.mnguntalk.com/viewtopic.php?f=52&t=19221

These threads have discussions on strategy and three versions of a silencer bill that I and two other guys presented to Senator Wolf.

There is much disagreement on how to best push this issue. This is plain by reading about the efforts to sponsor a silencer bill. Personally I believe the best way to get a legislator interested in a silencer bill is to meet with them face to face. My three Senator/Reps were not willing to sponsor or support the silencer bill in WA until after I met with or spoke to them on the phone about it. When they see that you are not some sort of gun nut but a regular person, they they might see that silencers are only owned by the nicest persons in town.

Ranb