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3w ago

Minnesota Lawmakers Move to Close Ghost Gun Loophole After Supreme Court Ruling

Legislators are preparing 2026 legislation to mandate serial numbers on privately made firearms following the court’s ruling

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FILE - This Nov. 27, 2019, file photo shows "ghost guns" on display at the headquarters of the San Francisco Police Department in San Francisco. The Biden administration is expected to come out within days with its long-awaited ghost gun rule. The aim is to rein in privately made firearms without serial numbers. They're increasingly cropping up at crime scenes across the U.S. Three people familiar with the matter tell The Associated Press the rule could be released as soon as Monday, April 11,2022. They could not discuss the matter publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity. (AP Photo/Haven Daley, File)
Guns seized during raid targeting the Sinaloa Cartel. (Credit DEA)

Overview

  • The Supreme Court ruled 4–2 that Minnesota’s 1994 law only applies when federal law requires serial numbers, effectively legalizing most ghost guns under state statute.
  • Justice Paul Thissen authored the majority opinion, Chief Justice Natalie Hudson dissented and Justice Theodora Gaïtas recused herself from the case.
  • The decision stems from a February 2022 Fridley crash in which a trooper discovered a Glock 19 ghost gun without a serial number in the driver’s vehicle.
  • The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives reported recovering more than 45,000 suspected ghost guns from U.S. crime scenes between 2016 and 2021.
  • Sen. Ron Latz and Attorney General Keith Ellison have pledged to introduce bills in the 2026 session aligning state law with federal requirements to regulate untraceable firearms.