St. Paul City Council to vote next week on mandate to secure guns and ammo

A proposed ordinance that would require St. Paul gun owners to securely store their firearms and ammunition in order to deter thefts is headed for a vote next week after a public hearing Wednesday following vocal support and opposition.

The proposal would amend city code, penalizing people who leave a loaded or unloaded firearm in a vehicle or location where someone could take it. The amendment would not apply toward people who take "reasonable action" to lock their gun and keep ammunition where others can't access it.

Second Ward Council Member Rebecca Noecker and Mayor Melvin Carter, whose locked guns were stolen in 2017 before the culprit was charged, said in an April news release that the proposal would decrease the number of gunfire incidents.

"Loose guns pose a danger to our entire community," Carter said in the release. "Responsible gun owners must do their part to prevent firearms from falling into the wrong hands."

St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry said the ordinance could prevent unsecured guns from being used in criminal activity or suicides.

Deputy Chief Paul Ford echoed that support, adding that 227 firearms were reported stolen in St. Paul by the middle of last year. Nearly half of those guns were stolen from vehicles.

"So if we want to reduce gun violence, if we want to reduce gun crimes, safe storage is an integral part," Ford said. "If people can't steal guns from vehicles, which is where most of ours are taken, they're less likely to be able to use those in crimes."

Wednesday's public hearing also featured words from a physician, teacher, former council member, and from people like Rolf Olson — a pastor whose 24-year-old daughter Katherine Ann Olson was shot to death in 2007 after answering a Craigslist ad for a babysitter.

"As a gun owner and hunter myself, I'm not opposed to guns. But I certainly know how deadly they are," Olson said. "My daughter was murdered with an unsecured pistol taken from his father's dresser drawer next to a pill bottle full of bullets. Had that pistol been properly stored, it is quite likely that my daughter would still be alive today."

Some challenged the proposal, saying it would disarm residents, break Minnesota law, and breach the Second Amendment. Those challengers included members of the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, who joined a lawsuit challenging a Minnesota law barring 18- to 20-year-olds from obtaining permits to carry handguns in public.

"People in the state of Minnesota have a right to defend themselves and they can't do that effectively if their firearms are rendered inoperable when someone breaks into their house," Gus Sandberg, a member of the Gun Owners Caucus, said in publicized comments about the measure. "I would ask that you vote no on this new ordinance."

Ward Nichols of St. Paul called the proposed ordinance "an attempt to punish law-abiding gun owners and would not be followed by criminals."

"I believe that the ordinance, if passed, would immediately become the subject of lawsuits," he said. "I do not want my St. Paul tax dollars being used to attempt a defense of this ordinance."

With public hearings over, the measure now moves forward for the City Council to review at its next meeting. Council President Amy Brendmoen said other council members are supporting the ordinance and she expects that it will pass on May 3.

The ordinance would then go to Carter, becoming effective around a month after his signature.