Minneapolis City Council — Transcript
Thursday, May 7, 2026
Safe Firearms Ordinance Passage and Advocacy for State Legislative Action
Votes (1)
Passage of the Safe Firearms Ordinance by Minneapolis City Council and Advocacy for State Legislative Action
Dissent: None
Moved by Not specified [N/A] · Seconded by Not specified [N/A]
The Minneapolis City Council unanimously passed the Safe Firearms Ordinance, a legislative package aimed at reducing gun violence. Key provisions include bans on assault weapons, binary triggers, and ghost guns, prohibitions on firearms in sensitive public spaces (schools, churches, government buildings), and a requirement for safe firearm storage. The ordinance was spurred by personal experiences of gun violence, including tragedies at Annunciation Catholic School and Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, and aims to address gun violence as a public health crisis. However, the ordinance's effectiveness is contingent upon the Minnesota State Legislature repealing or amending existing preemption laws that limit local authority. Council members and advocates urged the Minnesota House to pass statewide gun control legislation or grant local control, citing similar actions in St. Paul and Edina, and affirmed their commitment to continued advocacy until legislative changes are achieved.
Notable Quotes (9)
Today, the Minneapolis City Council passed the Safe Firearms Ordinance, a comprehensive legislative package of common sense gun control policy, unanimously and with the full support of the mayor as it heads to his desk.
This legislative package includes a ban on assault weapons, a ban on binary triggers, which double the lethality of a firearm, a ban on ghost guns, which circumvent background checks, and are untraceable at crime scenes. A prohibition on firearms in sensitive places and public spaces, including schools, churches, and government buildings, and a requirement for safe storage of firearms.
These provisions will go into effect only when the state legislature acts by repealing or amending existing laws and giving authority to the city of Minneapolis to enact these provisions. This is exactly why we are here today.
On August 27th, our lives were changed forever when, on the third day of school at the first all-school mass, a gunman shot 116 rounds of gunfire into the church while the students were praying. We lost 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moise.
Assault-style weapons have no place on our streets, and I am proud of the work of our body that has put this forward today to remove these weapons from our city.
But if they can't or won't, the very least they can do is give cities the ability to reduce gun violence. St. Paul and Edina uh have already led the way by passing local ordinances.
I think the vote that we took as a City Council sends a clear message to the Minnesota House of Representatives to please not only hear the Minneapolis City Council, but please not only hear the State Senate, but but please hear the families who are impacted by gun violence and do something.
This ordinance won't prevent gun violence, but it can help reduce the impact of it, and that is important. We will be nimble with this in hand, ready to go. If we don't get the backing from the state to make these changes, we will try again.
While we know that Minnesota's state preemption laws limit what cities can ultimately enforce, today matters deeply because leadership matters. Courage matters and refusing to stay silent in the face of this violent epidemic matters.
Ordinances & Resolutions (2)
A comprehensive legislative package passed by the Minneapolis City Council concerning gun control policy.
Legislation passed by the Minnesota State Senate, which the Minneapolis council urges the House to also pass.