MINNEAPOLIS — Starting Aug. 1, new laws around gun safety will go into effect across Minnesota.
Those laws include expanded background checks for firearm transfers, as well as increased penalties for machine gun possession and modifications.
Starting Jan. 1, the red flag law kicks in.
Moving forward, private transactions will be held to the same standard as when someone buys from a licensed firearm dealer.
Background checks will be required to transfer a pistol or semiautomatic military-style assault weapons.
"You're gonna have to do it with private sales; you're gonna have to deal with sales at swap meets," said legal expert Michael Bryant.
Bryant, a managing partner and trial lawyer for Bradshaw & Bryant, says it will also affect how people loan their guns by limiting who they can loan them to.
Another rule kicking in on Tuesday includes increased penalties for possessing or using a machine gun, trigger activator or machine gun conversion kit. Anyone convicted of having those modifiers could go to prison for 20 years with fines reaching up to $35,000.
"The concern was that the penalties weren't big enough," said Bryant.
The new red flag law won't go into effect until the start of next year. It's also known as an extreme risk protection order.
It allows family members or law enforcement to petition a judge for an order to temporarily remove guns from a person who may be a threat to themselves or others.
"There's already litigation going around the country," said Bryant about the law's future potential for trial. "It involves whether or not sheriffs enforce it or use it. We're already seeing those stories from other states."
All three changes were part of the public safety package that passed the Democratic-controlled legislature.
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