Skip to main content Skip to office menu Skip to footer
Capital IconMinnesota Legislature

Office of the Revisor of Statutes

609.2242 Domestic assault.

Subdivision 1. Misdemeanor. Whoever does any of the following against a family or household member as defined in section 518B.01, subdivision 2, commits an assault and is guilty of a misdemeanor:

(1) commits an act with intent to cause fear in another of immediate bodily harm or death; or

(2) intentionally inflicts or attempts to inflict bodily harm upon another.

Subd. 2. Gross misdemeanor. Whoever violates subdivision 1 during the time period between a previous qualified domestic violence-related offense conviction or adjudication of delinquency against a family or household member as defined in section 518B.01, subdivision 2, and the end of the five years following discharge from sentence or disposition for that offense is guilty of a gross misdemeanor and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than one year or to payment of a fine of not more than $3,000, or both.

Subd. 3. Domestic assaults; firearms. (a) When a person is convicted of a violation of this section or section 609.221, 609.222, 609.223, 609.224, or 609.2247, the court shall determine and make written findings on the record as to whether:

(1) the assault was committed against a family or household member, as defined in section 518B.01, subdivision 2;

(2) the defendant owns or possesses a firearm; and

(3) the firearm was used in any way during the commission of the assault.

(b) If the court determines that the assault was of a family or household member, and that the offender owns or possesses a firearm and used it in any way during the commission of the assault, it shall order that the firearm be summarily forfeited under section 609.5316, subdivision 3.

(c) When a person is convicted of assaulting a family or household member and is determined by the court to have used a firearm in any way during commission of the assault, the court may order that the person is prohibited from possessing any type of firearm for any period longer than three years or for the remainder of the person's life. A person who violates this paragraph is guilty of a gross misdemeanor. At the time of the conviction, the court shall inform the defendant whether and for how long the defendant is prohibited from possessing a firearm and that it is a gross misdemeanor to violate this paragraph. The failure of the court to provide this information to a defendant does not affect the applicability of the firearm possession prohibition or the gross misdemeanor penalty to that defendant.

(d) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (c), when a person is convicted of a violation of this section or section 609.224 and the court determines that the victim was a family or household member, the court shall inform the defendant that the defendant is prohibited from possessing a pistol for three years from the date of conviction and that it is a gross misdemeanor offense to violate this prohibition. The failure of the court to provide this information to a defendant does not affect the applicability of the pistol possession prohibition or the gross misdemeanor penalty to that defendant.

(e) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (c), a person is not entitled to possess a pistol if the person has been convicted after August 1, 1992, of domestic assault under this section or assault in the fifth degree under section 609.224 and the assault victim was a family or household member as defined in section 518B.01, subdivision 2, unless three years have elapsed from the date of conviction and, during that time, the person has not been convicted of any other violation of this section or section 609.224. Property rights may not be abated but access may be restricted by the courts. A person who possesses a pistol in violation of this paragraph is guilty of a gross misdemeanor.

Subd. 4. Felony. Whoever violates the provisions of this section or section 609.224, subdivision 1, against the same victim during the time period between the first of any combination of two or more previous qualified domestic violence-related offense convictions or adjudications of delinquency and the end of the five years following discharge from sentence or disposition for that offense is guilty of a felony and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than five years or payment of a fine of not more than $10,000, or both.

HIST: 1995 c 259 art 3 s 15; 2000 c 437 s 8,9; 1Sp2001 c 8 art 10 s 10,11; 2005 c 136 art 17 s 12

Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes