HF 1467

2nd Unofficial Engrossment - 87th Legislature (2011 - 2012)

Posted on 02/24/2012 01:50 p.m.

1.1A bill for an act 1.2relating to firearms; clarifying and delimiting the authority of public officials 1.3to disarm individuals at any time; clarifying law on use of force in defense of 1.4home and person; codifying and extending Minnesota's self-defense and defense 1.5of home laws; eliminating the common law duty to retreat in cases of self 1.6defense outside the home; expanding the boundaries of dwelling for purposes of 1.7self-defense; creating a presumption in the case of a person entering a dwelling 1.8or occupied vehicle by stealth or force; extending the rights available to a person 1.9in that person's dwelling to a person defending against entry of that person's 1.10occupied vehicle; providing for the recognition by Minnesota of other states' 1.11permits to carry a pistol within and under the laws of Minnesota;amending 1.12Minnesota Statutes 2010, sections 609.065; 624.7131, subdivisions 2, 8; 624.714, 1.13subdivision 16; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 624. 1.14BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 1.15ARTICLE 1 1.16PERMIT TO PURCHASE RENEWAL 1.17    Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 624.7131, subdivision 2, is amended to 1.18read: 1.19    Subd. 2. Investigation. The chief of police or sheriff shall check criminal histories, 1.20records and warrant information relating to the applicant through the Minnesota Crime 1.21Information System, the national criminal record repository, and the National Instant 1.22Criminal Background Check System. The chief of police or sheriff shall new text begin may new text end also make a 1.23reasonable effort to check other available state and local record-keeping systems. The 1.24chief of police or sheriff shall obtain commitment information from the commissioner of 1.25human services as provided in section 245.041. 1.26 new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end new text begin This section is effective August 1, 2012, for all valid new text end 1.27 new text begin transferee permits issued by the chief of police or sheriff on or after August 1, 2011. new text end 2.1    Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 624.7131, subdivision 8, is amended to read: 2.2    Subd. 8. Hearing upon denial new text begin Petition for relief new text end . Any person aggrieved by new text begin a new text end 2.3 new text begin violation of this section or by new text end denial of a transferee permit may appeal the denial new text begin petition new text end 2.4 new text begin for relief new text end to the district court having jurisdiction over the county or municipality in which 2.5the denial new text begin act new text end occurred. new text begin The court shall grant an appeal if the applicant is not a person new text end 2.6 new text begin prohibited from possessing a pistol or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon by new text end 2.7 new text begin section 624.713. If the court grants relief under this subdivision, the court may award the new text end 2.8 new text begin petitioner reasonable costs and expenses including attorney fees. new text end 2.9 new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end new text begin This section is effective August 1, 2012, and applies to new text end 2.10 new text begin appeals brought on or after that date. new text end 2.11ARTICLE 2 2.12AUTHORITY TO SEIZE WEAPONS 2.13    Section 1. new text begin [624.7192] AUTHORITY TO SEIZE AND CONFISCATE FIREARMS. new text end 2.14     new text begin (a) This section applies only during the effective period of a state of emergency new text end 2.15 new text begin proclaimed by the governor relating to a public disorder or disaster. new text end 2.16 new text begin (b) A peace officer who is acting in the lawful discharge of the officer's official duties new text end 2.17 new text begin without a warrant may disarm a lawfully detained individual only temporarily and only if new text end 2.18 new text begin the officer reasonably believes it is immediately necessary for the protection of the officer new text end 2.19 new text begin or another individual. Before releasing the individual, the peace officer must return to the new text end 2.20 new text begin individual any seized firearms and ammunition, and components thereof, any firearms new text end 2.21 new text begin accessories and ammunition reloading equipment and supplies, and any other personal new text end 2.22 new text begin weapons taken from the individual, unless the officer: (1) takes the individual into new text end 2.23 new text begin physical custody for engaging in criminal activity or for observation pursuant to section new text end 2.24 new text begin 253B.05, subdivision 2; or (2) seizes the items as evidence pursuant to an investigation for new text end 2.25 new text begin the commission of the crime for which the individual was arrested. new text end 2.26 new text begin (c) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, no governmental unit, government new text end 2.27 new text begin official, government employee, peace officer, or other person or body acting under new text end 2.28 new text begin governmental authority or color of law may undertake any of the following actions with new text end 2.29 new text begin regard to any firearms and ammunition, and components thereof; any firearms accessories new text end 2.30 new text begin and ammunition reloading equipment and supplies; and any other personal weapons: new text end 2.31 new text begin (1) prohibit, regulate, or curtail the otherwise lawful possession, carrying, new text end 2.32 new text begin transportation, transfer, defensive use, or other lawful use of any of these items; new text end 2.33 new text begin (2) seize, commandeer, or confiscate any of these items in any manner, except as new text end 2.34 new text begin expressly authorized in paragraph (b); new text end 3.1 new text begin (3) suspend or revoke a valid permit issued pursuant to section 624.7131 or 624.714, new text end 3.2 new text begin except as expressly authorized in those sections; or new text end 3.3 new text begin (4) close or limit the operating hours of businesses that lawfully sell or service any new text end 3.4 new text begin of these items, unless such closing or limitation of hours applies equally to all forms new text end 3.5 new text begin of commerce. new text end 3.6 new text begin (d) No provision of law relating to a public disorder or disaster emergency new text end 3.7 new text begin proclamation by the governor or any other governmental or quasi-governmental official, new text end 3.8 new text begin including but not limited to emergency management powers pursuant to chapters 9 new text end 3.9 new text begin and 12, shall be construed as authorizing the governor or any other governmental or new text end 3.10 new text begin quasi-governmental official of this state or any of its political subdivisions acting at new text end 3.11 new text begin the direction of the governor or another official to act in violation of this paragraph new text end 3.12 new text begin or paragraphs (b) and (c). new text end 3.13 new text begin (e)(1) An individual aggrieved by a violation of this section may seek relief in an new text end 3.14 new text begin action at law or in equity or in any other proper proceeding for damages, injunctive relief, new text end 3.15 new text begin or other appropriate redress against a person who commits or causes the commission of new text end 3.16 new text begin this violation. Venue shall be in the district court having jurisdiction over the county in new text end 3.17 new text begin which the aggrieved individual resides or in which the violation occurred. new text end 3.18 new text begin (2) In addition to any other remedy available at law or in equity, an individual new text end 3.19 new text begin aggrieved by the seizure or confiscation of an item listed in paragraph (c) in violation of new text end 3.20 new text begin this section may make application for the immediate return of the items in the office of the new text end 3.21 new text begin clerk of court for the county in which the items were seized and, except as provided in new text end 3.22 new text begin paragraph (b), the court shall order the immediate return of the items by the seizing or new text end 3.23 new text begin confiscating governmental office and that office's employed officials. new text end 3.24 new text begin (3) In an action or proceeding to enforce this section, the court may award the new text end 3.25 new text begin prevailing plaintiff reasonable court costs and expenses, including attorney fees. new text end 3.26 new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end new text begin This section is effective August 1, 2012. new text end 3.27ARTICLE 3 3.28SELF-DEFENSE: USE OF FORCE 3.29    Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 609.065, is amended to read: 3.30609.065 JUSTIFIABLE TAKING OF LIFE new text begin USE OF DEADLY FORCE IN new text end 3.31 new text begin DEFENSE OF HOME AND PERSON new text end . 3.32     new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end new text begin Definitions. new text end The intentional taking of the life of another is not 3.33authorized by section , except when necessary in resisting or preventing an offense 3.34which the actor reasonably believes exposes the actor or another to great bodily harm or 4.1death, or preventing the commission of a felony in the actor's place of abode. new text begin (a) For new text end 4.2 new text begin purposes of this section, the terms in this subdivision have the meanings given them. new text end 4.3 new text begin (b) "Court order" means an order for protection issued under section 518B.01, a new text end 4.4 new text begin restraining order issued under section 609.748, a no contact order issued under section new text end 4.5 new text begin 518B.01 or 629.75, or a substantively similar order issued by any court in this state, new text end 4.6 new text begin another state, the United States, or any subordinate jurisdiction of the United States. new text end 4.7 new text begin (c) "Deadly force" means force used by an individual with the purpose of causing, new text end 4.8 new text begin or which the individual should reasonably know creates a substantial risk of causing, new text end 4.9 new text begin great bodily harm or death. The intentional discharge of a firearm by an individual at new text end 4.10 new text begin another person, or at a vehicle in which another person is believed to be, constitutes new text end 4.11 new text begin deadly force. A threat to cause great bodily harm or death, by the production of a weapon new text end 4.12 new text begin or otherwise, constitutes reasonable force and not deadly force, when the individual's new text end 4.13 new text begin objective is limited to creating an expectation that the individual will use deadly force new text end 4.14 new text begin only if authorized by law. new text end 4.15 new text begin (d) "Dwelling" means a building defined under section 609.556, subdivision 3, an new text end 4.16 new text begin overnight stopping accommodation of any kind, or a place of abode, that an individual new text end 4.17 new text begin temporarily or permanently is occupying or intending to occupy as a habitation or home. new text end 4.18 new text begin A dwelling includes, but is not limited to, a building or conveyance and that building's new text end 4.19 new text begin or conveyance's curtilage and any attached or adjacent deck, porch, appurtenance, or new text end 4.20 new text begin other structure, whether the building or conveyance is used temporarily or permanently new text end 4.21 new text begin for these purposes, is mobile or immobile, or is a motor vehicle, watercraft, motor home, new text end 4.22 new text begin tent, or the equivalent. new text end 4.23 new text begin (e) "Forcible felony" means any crime punishable by imprisonment exceeding one new text end 4.24 new text begin year the elements of which include the use or threatened use of physical force or a deadly new text end 4.25 new text begin weapon against the person of another, including but not limited to: murder in the first and new text end 4.26 new text begin second degrees; manslaughter in the first degree; assault in the first, second, and third new text end 4.27 new text begin degrees; criminal sexual conduct in the first and second degrees; arson in the first degree; new text end 4.28 new text begin burglary in the first, second, and third degrees; robbery; and kidnapping. new text end 4.29     new text begin (f) "Good faith" includes honesty in fact in the conduct of the act concerned. new text end 4.30 new text begin (g) "Great bodily harm" has the meaning given in section 609.02, subdivision 7a. new text end 4.31     new text begin (h) "Imminent" means the actor infers from all the facts and circumstances that the new text end 4.32 new text begin course of conduct has commenced. new text end 4.33 new text begin (i) "Substantial bodily harm" has the meaning given in section 609.02, subdivision 8. new text end 4.34 new text begin (j) "Vehicle" means a conveyance of any type. new text end 4.35     new text begin Subd. 2. new text end new text begin Circumstances when authorized. new text end new text begin (a) The use of deadly force by an new text end 4.36 new text begin individual is justified under this section when the act is undertaken: new text end 5.1 new text begin (1) to resist or prevent the commission of a felony in the individual's dwelling; new text end 5.2 new text begin (2) to resist or prevent what the individual reasonably believes is an offense or new text end 5.3 new text begin attempted offense that imminently exposes the individual or another person to substantial new text end 5.4 new text begin bodily harm, great bodily harm, or death; or new text end 5.5 new text begin (3) to resist or prevent what the individual reasonably believes is the commission or new text end 5.6 new text begin imminent commission of a forcible felony. new text end 5.7 new text begin (b) The use of deadly force is not authorized under this section if the individual new text end 5.8 new text begin knows that the person against whom force is being used is a licensed peace officer from new text end 5.9 new text begin this state, another state, the United States, or any subordinate jurisdiction of the United new text end 5.10 new text begin States, who is acting lawfully. new text end 5.11     new text begin Subd. 3. new text end new text begin Degree of force; retreat. new text end new text begin An individual taking defensive action pursuant new text end 5.12 new text begin to subdivision 2 may use all force and means, including deadly force, that the individual new text end 5.13 new text begin in good faith believes is required to succeed in defense. The individual may meet force new text end 5.14 new text begin with superior force when the individual's objective is defensive; the individual is not new text end 5.15 new text begin required to retreat; and the individual may continue defensive actions against an assailant new text end 5.16 new text begin until the danger has ended. new text end 5.17     new text begin Subd. 4. new text end new text begin Presumptions. new text end new text begin (a) An individual using deadly force is presumed to possess new text end 5.18 new text begin a reasonable belief that there exists an imminent threat of substantial bodily harm, great new text end 5.19 new text begin bodily harm, or death to the individual or another person, if the individual knows or new text end 5.20 new text begin has reason to know that: new text end 5.21 new text begin (1) the person against whom the defensive action is being taken is unlawfully new text end 5.22 new text begin entering or attempting to enter by force or by stealth, or has unlawfully entered by force or new text end 5.23 new text begin by stealth and remains within, the dwelling or occupied vehicle of the individual; or new text end 5.24 new text begin (2) the person against whom the defensive action is being taken is in the process of new text end 5.25 new text begin removing, or attempting to remove, the individual or another person from the dwelling or new text end 5.26 new text begin occupied vehicle of the individual. new text end 5.27 new text begin (b) An individual is not entitled to the benefit of the presumption in paragraph (a) if new text end 5.28 new text begin the individual knows that the person against whom the defensive action is being taken: new text end 5.29 new text begin (1) is a lawful resident of the dwelling or a lawful possessor of the vehicle, or is new text end 5.30 new text begin otherwise lawfully permitted to enter the dwelling or vehicle; or new text end 5.31 new text begin (2) is a person who has lawful custody of the person being removed from the new text end 5.32 new text begin dwelling or vehicle or whose removal from the dwelling or vehicle is being attempted. new text end 5.33 new text begin A person who is prohibited by a court order from contacting another individual or new text end 5.34 new text begin from entering a dwelling or possessing a vehicle of another individual is not a lawful new text end 5.35 new text begin resident of that individual's dwelling and is not a lawful possessor of that individual's new text end 5.36 new text begin vehicle. new text end 6.1     new text begin (c) An individual using defensive force is not entitled to the benefit of the new text end 6.2 new text begin presumption in paragraph (a) if the individual is presently engaged in a crime or attempting new text end 6.3 new text begin to escape from the scene of a crime, or is presently using the dwelling or occupied vehicle new text end 6.4 new text begin in furtherance of a crime. new text end 6.5 new text begin (d) An individual is not entitled to the benefit of the presumption in paragraph (a) if new text end 6.6 new text begin the individual knows or has reason to know that the person against whom the defensive new text end 6.7 new text begin action is being taken is a licensed peace officer from this state, another state, the United new text end 6.8 new text begin States, or any subordinate jurisdiction of the United States, who is acting lawfully. new text end 6.9     new text begin Subd. 5. new text end new text begin Criminal investigation; immunity from prosecution. new text end new text begin (a) An individual new text end 6.10 new text begin who uses force, including deadly force, according to this section or as otherwise provided new text end 6.11 new text begin by law in defense of the individual, the individual's dwelling, or another individual is new text end 6.12 new text begin justified in using such force and is immune from any criminal prosecution for that act. new text end 6.13 new text begin (b) A law enforcement agency may arrest an individual using force under new text end 6.14 new text begin circumstances described in this section only after considering any claims or circumstances new text end 6.15 new text begin supporting self-defense or lawful defense of another individual. new text end 6.16     new text begin Subd. 6. new text end new text begin Justifiable use of force; burden of proof. new text end new text begin In a criminal trial, when there new text end 6.17 new text begin is any evidence of justifiable use of force under this section or section 609.06, the state new text end 6.18 new text begin has the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant's actions were new text end 6.19 new text begin not justifiable. new text end 6.20     new text begin Subd. 7. new text end new text begin Short title. new text end new text begin This section may be cited as the "Defense of Dwelling and new text end 6.21 new text begin Person Act of 2012." new text end 6.22 new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end new text begin This section is effective August 1, 2012, and applies to uses new text end 6.23 new text begin of deadly force occurring on or after that date. new text end 6.24ARTICLE 4 6.25RECOGNITION OF OTHER STATES' PERMITS TO CARRY 6.26    Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 624.714, subdivision 16, is amended to 6.27read: 6.28    Subd. 16. Recognition of permits from other states. (a) The commissioner must 6.29annually establish and publish a list of other states that have laws governing the issuance 6.30of permits to carry weapons that are not substantially similar to this section. The list must 6.31be available on the Internet. A person holding a new text begin valid new text end carry permit from a new text begin or license issued new text end 6.32 new text begin by another new text end state not on the list new text begin or other non-Minnesota governmental jurisdiction new text end may use 6.33the license or permit new text begin or license new text end in this state new text begin Minnesota new text end subject to the rights, privileges, 6.34and requirements of this section. new text begin This permit or license is a valid permit to carry a pistol new text end 7.1 new text begin within and under the laws of Minnesota for as long as that permit or license remains valid new text end 7.2 new text begin under the laws of the issuing jurisdiction, and is deemed to be a permit issued under this new text end 7.3 new text begin section for all purposes. new text end 7.4(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), no license or permit from new text begin or license issued by new text end 7.5another state new text begin or other non-Minnesota governmental jurisdiction new text end is valid in this state if the 7.6holder is or becomes prohibited by new text begin Minnesota new text end law from possessing a firearm. 7.7(c) Any sheriff new text begin , on the sheriff's initiative new text end or new text begin at the request of a new text end police chief new text begin of a new text end 7.8 new text begin jurisdiction located in the same county, new text end may file a petition under subdivision 12 seeking 7.9an order suspending or revoking new text begin the authority of the holder of new text end an out-of-state permit 7.10holder's authority new text begin or license new text end to carry a pistol in this state new text begin Minnesota new text end on the grounds set 7.11forth in subdivision 6, paragraph (a), clause (3). An order shall only be issued new text begin only new text end if the 7.12petitioner meets the burden of proof and criteria set forth in subdivision 12. If the court 7.13denies the petition, the court must award the permit new text begin or license new text end holder reasonable costs and 7.14expenses including attorney fees. The petition may be filed in any new text begin Minnesota new text end county in 7.15the state where a person holding a license or permit from new text begin or license issued by new text end another state 7.16 new text begin or other non-Minnesota governmental jurisdiction new text end can be found. 7.17(d) new text begin The commissioner must annually establish and publish a list of states that have new text end 7.18 new text begin reciprocity agreements with Minnesota mutually recognizing each state's permits or new text end 7.19 new text begin licenses to carry a pistol, or that otherwise recognize Minnesota permits to carry a pistol. new text end 7.20 new text begin The list must be available on the Internet. new text end 7.21 new text begin (e) new text end The commissioner must, when necessary, execute reciprocity agreements 7.22regarding carry permits new text begin or licenses new text end with jurisdictions whose carry permits new text begin or licenses new text end are 7.23recognized under paragraph (a). 7.24 new text begin (f) Notwithstanding any contrary provision of this subdivision, a Minnesota resident new text end 7.25 new text begin is not authorized to carry a pistol in Minnesota under the terms of a carry permit or license new text end 7.26 new text begin issued by another state or non-Minnesota government jurisdiction. new text end 7.27 new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end new text begin This section is effective August 1, 2012. new text end