ATF: Minnesota permit to carry now satisfies background check for buying guns

Any carry permits with expiration dates of Aug. 1, 2019, or later now qualify as alternatives to usual the FBI instant background checks.

April 29, 2017 at 1:37AM
A man who would give only his first name of Charles filled out the paperwork for a handgun permit to carry Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012, at the Anoka County Sheriff's Office in Andover, MN. He believes the most recent shooting in Connecticut may be influencing people to get permits to purchase. The shooting did not, however, influence his decision to get a purchase to carry permit, he said. "Nothing in the news lately made me want to get a purchase to carry," he said, adding that even with a permit he
A man who would give only his first name of Charles filled out the paperwork for a handgun permit to carry in 2012 at the Anoka County Sheriff's Office in Andover. (Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Minnesota residents with a permit to carry may now purchase a firearm from a licensed dealer without the normally required background check, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) announced Friday.

The ATF has determined that the state's requirement for getting a permit to carry complies with the background check requirements under federal law for purchasing a firearm.

Any carry permits with expiration dates of Aug. 1, 2019, or later now qualify as alternatives to the usual FBI instant background checks.

ATF Assistant Director Marvin Richardson wrote a letter to all state federal firearms licensees to announce the change.

In the letter, Richardson said the new change, however, does not apply to the Minnesota permit to purchase.

As of March 1, the total number of valid permits in Minnesota was 265,728, the highest total ever reported in the annual release from the Department of Public Safety's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Roughly one year ago, that total was 217,909.

KAREN ZAMORA

about the writer

about the writer

Karen Zamora

See More

More from Local

card image