HF 1557

1st Engrossment - 79th Legislature (1995 - 1996) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to crime prevention; clarifying the 
  1.3             definition of "dangerous weapon" in the criminal code; 
  1.4             clarifying criminal liability for possessing a 
  1.5             dangerous weapon on school property when the object 
  1.6             possessed is not designed as a weapon; providing an 
  1.7             exception for the possession or use of weapons when 
  1.8             required for instructional purposes; expanding the 
  1.9             definition of pistol in the handgun control act to 
  1.10            include electronic incapacitation devices that operate 
  1.11            by means of carbon dioxide propellant; excluding these 
  1.12            devices from the permit to carry requirement; 
  1.13            permitting licensed protective agents and their 
  1.14            employees who provide armored car services to apply 
  1.15            for a permit to carry a pistol with the sheriff or 
  1.16            police chief where the person is employed; requiring 
  1.17            that the permit be valid only when armored car 
  1.18            services are being provided; amending Minnesota 
  1.19            Statutes 1994, sections 609.02, subdivision 6; 609.66, 
  1.20            subdivision 1d; 624.712, subdivision 2, and by adding 
  1.21            a subdivision; 624.7132, subdivision 12; 624.714, 
  1.22            subdivisions 2, 6, and by adding a subdivision; and 
  1.23            624.731, subdivision 1. 
  1.24  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.25     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 609.02, 
  1.26  subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
  1.27     Subd. 6.  [DANGEROUS WEAPON.] "Dangerous weapon" means: 
  1.28     (1) any firearm, whether loaded or unloaded, or; 
  1.29     (2) any device designed as a weapon and capable of 
  1.30  producing death or great bodily harm,; 
  1.31     (3) any combustible or flammable liquid or other device or 
  1.32  instrumentality that, in the manner it is used or intended to be 
  1.33  used, is calculated or likely to produce death or great bodily 
  1.34  harm,; or 
  2.1      (4) any fire that is used to produce death or great bodily 
  2.2   harm. 
  2.3      As used in this subdivision, "flammable liquid" means any 
  2.4   liquid having a flash point below 100 degrees Fahrenheit and 
  2.5   having a vapor pressure not exceeding 40 pounds per square inch 
  2.6   (absolute) at 100 degrees Fahrenheit but does not include 
  2.7   intoxicating liquor as defined in section 340A.101.  As used in 
  2.8   this subdivision, "combustible liquid" is a liquid having a 
  2.9   flash point at or above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. 
  2.10     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 609.66, 
  2.11  subdivision 1d, is amended to read: 
  2.12     Subd. 1d.  [FELONY; POSSESSION ON SCHOOL PROPERTY.] (a) 
  2.13  Whoever possesses, stores, or keeps a dangerous weapon or uses 
  2.14  or brandishes a potentially dangerous weapon, a replica firearm, 
  2.15  or a BB gun on school property is guilty of a felony and may be 
  2.16  sentenced to imprisonment for not more than two years or to 
  2.17  payment of a fine of not more than $5,000, or both. 
  2.18     (b) Whoever possesses, stores, or keeps a replica firearm 
  2.19  or a BB gun any of the following on school property is guilty of 
  2.20  a gross misdemeanor: 
  2.21     (1) a replica firearm; 
  2.22     (2) a BB gun; or 
  2.23     (3) any other instrument or device, the possession of which 
  2.24  on school property serves no legitimate purpose, and which 
  2.25  reasonably appears to be a weapon. 
  2.26     (c) As used in this subdivision: 
  2.27     (1) "BB gun" means a device that fires or ejects a shot 
  2.28  measuring .18 of an inch or less in diameter; 
  2.29     (2) "dangerous weapon" has the meaning given it in section 
  2.30  609.02, subdivision 6; means:  
  2.31     (i) any firearm, whether loaded or unloaded; or 
  2.32     (ii) any device designed as a weapon and capable of 
  2.33  producing death or great bodily harm; 
  2.34     (3) "potentially dangerous weapon" means:  
  2.35     (i) any combustible or flammable liquid or other device or 
  2.36  instrumentality that, in the manner it is used, is calculated or 
  3.1   likely to produce death or great bodily harm; or 
  3.2      (ii) any fire that is used to produce death or great bodily 
  3.3   harm; 
  3.4      (4) "replica firearm" has meaning given it in section 
  3.5   609.713; and 
  3.6      (4) (5) "school property" means: 
  3.7      (i) a public or private elementary, middle, or secondary 
  3.8   school building and its grounds, whether leased or owned by the 
  3.9   school; and 
  3.10     (ii) the area within a school bus when that bus is being 
  3.11  used to transport one or more elementary, middle, or secondary 
  3.12  school students. 
  3.13     (d) This subdivision does not apply to: 
  3.14     (1) licensed peace officers, military personnel, or 
  3.15  students participating in military training, who are performing 
  3.16  official duties; 
  3.17     (2) persons who carry pistols according to the terms of a 
  3.18  permit; 
  3.19     (3) persons who keep or store in a motor vehicle pistols in 
  3.20  accordance with sections 624.714 and 624.715 or other firearms 
  3.21  in accordance with section 97B.045; 
  3.22     (4) firearm safety or marksmanship courses or activities 
  3.23  conducted on school property; 
  3.24     (5) possession of dangerous weapons, BB guns, or replica 
  3.25  firearms by a ceremonial color guard; 
  3.26     (6) a gun or knife show held on school property; or 
  3.27     (7) possession of dangerous weapons, BB guns, or replica 
  3.28  firearms required for instructional or curricular purposes; or 
  3.29     (8) possession of dangerous weapons, BB guns, or replica 
  3.30  firearms with written permission of the principal. 
  3.31     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 624.712, 
  3.32  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  3.33     Subd. 2.  [PISTOL.] "Pistol" includes a weapon designed to 
  3.34  be fired by the use of a single hand and with an overall length 
  3.35  less than 26 inches, or having a barrel or barrels of a length 
  3.36  less than 18 inches in the case of a shotgun or having a barrel 
  4.1   of a length less than 16 inches in the case of a rifle (a) from 
  4.2   which may be fired or ejected one or more solid projectiles by 
  4.3   means of a cartridge or shell or by the action of an explosive 
  4.4   or the igniting of flammable or explosive substances; or (b) for 
  4.5   which the propelling force is a spring, elastic band, carbon 
  4.6   dioxide, air or other gas, or vapor.  "Pistol" also includes an 
  4.7   electronic incapacitation device, as defined in subdivision 11, 
  4.8   that operates by means of carbon dioxide propellant. 
  4.9      "Pistol" does not include a device firing or ejecting a 
  4.10  shot measuring .18 of an inch, or less, in diameter and commonly 
  4.11  known as a "BB gun," a scuba gun, a stud gun or nail gun used in 
  4.12  the construction industry or children's pop guns or toys. 
  4.13     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 624.712, is 
  4.14  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  4.15     Subd. 11.  [ELECTRONIC INCAPACITATION DEVICE.] "Electronic 
  4.16  incapacitation device" means a portable device which is designed 
  4.17  or intended by the manufacturer to be used, offensively or 
  4.18  defensively, to temporarily immobilize or incapacitate persons 
  4.19  by means of electric pulse or current.  "Electronic 
  4.20  incapacitation device" does not include cattle prods, electric 
  4.21  fences, or other electric devices which are used in 
  4.22  agricultural, animal husbandry, or food production activities. 
  4.23     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 624.7132, 
  4.24  subdivision 12, is amended to read: 
  4.25     Subd. 12.  [EXCLUSIONS.] Except as otherwise provided in 
  4.26  section 609.66, subdivision 1f, this section shall not apply to 
  4.27  transfers of antique firearms as curiosities or for their 
  4.28  historical significance or value, transfers to or between 
  4.29  federally licensed firearms dealers, transfers by order of 
  4.30  court, involuntary transfers, transfers at death or the 
  4.31  following transfers: 
  4.32     (a) except for transfers of electronic incapacitation 
  4.33  devices that operate by means of carbon dioxide propellant, a 
  4.34  transfer by a person other than a federally licensed firearms 
  4.35  dealer; 
  4.36     (b) a loan to a prospective transferee if the loan is 
  5.1   intended for a period of no more than one day; 
  5.2      (c) the delivery of a pistol or semiautomatic 
  5.3   military-style assault weapon to a person for the purpose of 
  5.4   repair, reconditioning or remodeling; 
  5.5      (d) a loan by a teacher to a student in a course designed 
  5.6   to teach marksmanship or safety with a pistol and approved by 
  5.7   the commissioner of natural resources; 
  5.8      (e) a loan between persons at a firearms collectors 
  5.9   exhibition; 
  5.10     (f) a loan between persons lawfully engaged in hunting or 
  5.11  target shooting if the loan is intended for a period of no more 
  5.12  than 12 hours; 
  5.13     (g) a loan between law enforcement officers who have the 
  5.14  power to make arrests other than citizen arrests; and 
  5.15     (h) a loan between employees or between the employer and an 
  5.16  employee in a business if the employee is required to carry a 
  5.17  pistol or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon by reason 
  5.18  of employment and is the holder of a valid permit to carry a 
  5.19  pistol.  
  5.20     Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 624.714, is 
  5.21  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  5.22     Subd. 1a.  [APPLICABILITY.] This section does not apply to 
  5.23  electronic incapacitation devices that operate by means of 
  5.24  carbon dioxide propellant and are defined as "pistols" in 
  5.25  section 624.712, subdivision 2. 
  5.26     Sec. 7.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 624.714, 
  5.27  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  5.28     Subd. 2.  [WHERE APPLICATION MADE.] Except as otherwise 
  5.29  provided in this subdivision, applications for permits to carry 
  5.30  shall be made to the chief of police of an organized full-time 
  5.31  police department of the municipality where the applicant 
  5.32  resides or to the county sheriff where there is no such local 
  5.33  chief of police of the county where the applicant resides, if 
  5.34  there is no local chief of police.  A licensed protective agent 
  5.35  or an employee of a licensed protective agent who provides 
  5.36  armored car services for the protection of persons or property 
  6.1   as described in section 326.338, subdivision 4, clause (3), may 
  6.2   apply for a permit to carry with the chief of police of the 
  6.3   municipality where the applicant is employed or with the sheriff 
  6.4   of the county where the applicant is employed, if there is no 
  6.5   local chief of police.  At the time of application, the local 
  6.6   police authority shall provide the applicant with a dated 
  6.7   receipt for the application. 
  6.8      Sec. 8.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 624.714, 
  6.9   subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
  6.10     Subd. 6.  [FAILURE TO GRANT PERMITS, PERMIT RESTRICTIONS.] 
  6.11  (a) Failure of the chief police officer or the county sheriff to 
  6.12  deny the application or issue a permit to carry a pistol within 
  6.13  21 days of the date of application shall be deemed to be a grant 
  6.14  thereof.  The local police authority shall provide an applicant 
  6.15  with written notification of a denial and the specific reason 
  6.16  for the denial. A chief of police or a sheriff may charge a fee 
  6.17  to cover the cost of conducting a background check, not to 
  6.18  exceed $10.  
  6.19     (b) The permit shall specify the activities for which it 
  6.20  shall be valid.  If the local police authority grants a permit 
  6.21  to a licensed protective agent or an employee of a licensed 
  6.22  protective agent who does not reside in the area where the 
  6.23  permit is issued, the police authority must specify on the 
  6.24  permit that it is valid only when the agent or employee is 
  6.25  providing armored car services. 
  6.26     Sec. 9.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 624.731, 
  6.27  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  6.28     Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] For the purposes of this 
  6.29  section: 
  6.30     (a) "authorized tear gas compound" means a lachrymator or 
  6.31  any substance composed of a mixture of a lachrymator including 
  6.32  chloroacetophenone, alpha-chloroacetophenone; 
  6.33  phenylchloromethylketone, orthochlorobenzalmalononitrile or 
  6.34  oleoresin capsicum, commonly known as tear gas; and 
  6.35     (b) "electronic incapacitation device" means a portable 
  6.36  device which is designed or intended by the manufacturer to be 
  7.1   used, offensively or defensively, to temporarily immobilize or 
  7.2   incapacitate persons by means of electric pulse or current.  
  7.3   "Electronic incapacitation device" does not include cattle 
  7.4   prods, electric fences, or other electric devices which are used 
  7.5   in agricultural, animal husbandry, or food production activities.
  7.6   "Electronic incapacitation device" also does not include an 
  7.7   electronic incapacitation device that operates by means of 
  7.8   carbon dioxide propellant and is defined as a "pistol" in 
  7.9   section 624.712, subdivision 2. 
  7.10     Sec. 10.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  7.11     Sections 1, 7, and 8 are effective August 1, 1995.  
  7.12  Sections 2 to 6 and 9 are effective August 1, 1995, and apply to 
  7.13  crimes committed on or after that date.