Minnesota: St. Paul Introduces Performative "Assault Weapon" Ban

In an act of political theater on Wednesday, October 22nd, the city council of St. Paul introduced a so-called "assault weapon" ban ordinance, which as written would ban the possession of popular firearms and standard magazines within city limits. Governor Tim Walz recently called for a special session on a broad package of gun-control measures, including magazine capacity limits and a so-called "assault weapon ban," but with the likelihood of that special session waning by the day, the city council of St. Paul decided to act on their own. The proposal is entirely performative, as Minnesota has statewide preemption for firearm laws and the ordinance would be unenforceable without approval by the state legislature.

Reports say the city council will take up the proposal on November 5th, but it has yet to be added to the official calendar.

Even with no mechanism of enforcement and immediate invalidity under state law, the city council proposed this ordinance anyway. This proves to law-abiding gun owners what we already knew; that anti-gun politicians do not hold the law in the same regard as we do, and are willing to act in violation of the law to push their agendas. 

Please stay tuned to the NRA-ILA website and your inbox for updates.