Public safety bill brings gun reform to Minnesota at last

Opinion editor's note: Editorials represent the opinions of the Star Tribune Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom.

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As it struggles to continue turning the corner on crime, Minnesota desperately needs a substantial infusion to its public safety efforts on all fronts, from crime prevention to enforcement of laws to the judiciary and corrections.

This year's public safety bill answers many of those needs. Well-balanced among prevention, enforcement and accountability, it features, most notably, sensible gun reforms that focus on expanding background checks — critical to determining those who should not have access to firearms — and a red-flag law that would give hope at last to those who want to keep firearms out of the hands of loved ones struggling with mental illness.

These two provisions have a long, contentious history in this state and have been debated fruitlessly for years, all while gun violence here and across the country has continued to mount. Neither will fully solve this society's gun violence problem, but both are needed responses.

For too long the Legislature has been out of step with Minnesotans, who have shown overwhelming and consistent support for extending background checks to private gun sales. In a recent KSTP-TV poll, 74% of Minnesotans supported such background checks, with only 21% disapproving.

Red-flag laws, known also as extreme risk protection orders, also have majority support, and other states have preceded Minnesota in adopting such laws. Sen. Ron Latz, DFL-St. Louis Park and chairman of the judiciary committee, said the law holds exceptional potential to reduce the rate of suicide by firearm in this state. "I have been working on these [provisions] for 20 years," he said in a news conference held before Friday's vote. "We have extensive and wide-ranging discussions, an extensive process and the final product is better for that."

The overall bill, he said, "invests in far-reaching efforts to prevent crime and follows through all the way to the end." It includes overdue improvements to the state crime lab, victim support, help for those seeking to switch to a career in law enforcement, and more money for a starved judicial system still catching up from the pandemic.

Included is an innovative program called the Minnesota Rehabilitation and Reinvestment Act, which would offer prisoners a chance to earn their way toward a reduction in sentences. Obtaining a GED, successfully completing chemical dependency treatment, and gaining needed workforce skills would make them eligible for reduced sentences.

The program drew heavy GOP criticism, with Sen. Warren Limmer calling it a "get-out-of-jail-free card." But it is far from that. Latz, a former assistant attorney general, noted accurately that 95% of inmates will, at some point, be released from prison. If they do nothing during their sentence but don't get in further trouble in prison, he said, they will serve about two-thirds of their sentences.

In this program, inmates will go through a thorough assessment that develops concrete rehabilitation goals tailored to them. Early release would be conditional on achieving those goals, and the money saved from those who gain early release would be earmarked for a Justice Reinvestment Fund invested in victim support, crime prevention, intervention programs and community-based correctional programs.

The innovation is a welcome one that seems to provide incentives and accountability, while providing participants with the tools they need for a successful re-entry into society.

There's more in the bill. Ramsey County will get $5 million toward a new juvenile detention facility, long needed since the demise of Totem Town. New categories of crime will be created for carjacking and organized retail theft that Latz said will rely on an approach similar to the federal racketeering law that U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger recently employed to charge 45 Minneapolis gang members. State and local governments will be prohibited from contracting with private prisons, which Latz said are obliged to shareholders to cut costs and improve profits.

The Senate passed its joint conference committee report on a strict, 34-33 party-line vote. Passage is also expected in the House, after which the bill heads to Gov. Tim Walz for his signature.

There will always be differences on how best to deal with crime and criminals. This bill appears to walk a fine line, balancing prevention with enforcement, accountability with intervention, and innovation. That is a solid approach.