Carrying a firearm for self-defense comes with a lot of responsibility. Knowing the laws where you carry is just one important task you must undertake as an armed American. To help with that, we will be providing you with a summary of basic carry laws for several states. Learn about the most important things to know when carrying in Minnesota below.
Getting a Concealed Carry Permit
Open carry and concealed carry are legal with a Minnesota Permit to Carry a Pistol (PCP) or a permit/license from a state that Minnesota honors. There is no stipulation in the law regarding whether that weapon must be concealed. Applicants must be at least 21 years old and complete a firearms training course. Resident and non-resident permits are available. A permit to carry constitutes a permit to purchase. In terms of reciprocity, Minnesota will honor permits from states with similar requirements.
Under Minnesota gun laws, handguns require a permit to purchase and carry. In order to purchase a handgun from a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL), a person must have a PCP or a Permit to Purchase/Transfer a Firearm. Without one of those permits, upon the purchase of a handgun from an FFL, there is a five- to seven-day waiting period. However, background checks are not required for private sales. There are no magazine-capacity restrictions. Minnesota prohibits the use of metal-penetrating bullets during the commission of a crime.
Stun guns and Tasers are legal to purchase and possess without a permit. However, a background check is required. A person may possess and use an authorized tear gas compound in the exercise of reasonable force in defense of the person or the person’s property only if it is propelled from an aerosol container.
Where Can One Carry Concealed?
In terms of locations where a concealed handgun may be carried, anyone with a Minnesota PCP or a license/permit from a state that Minnesota honors may carry a handgun concealed in a vehicle. Without a valid permit, it must be unloaded and either in the closed trunk or in a closed and fastened case, gun box or securely tied package. There is no duty to inform a law enforcement officer that you’re carrying a concealed firearm unless the officer asks. Any valid concealed carry license holder can carry concealed at roadside rest areas.
Other areas where permit holders can carry concealed are:
- Restaurants or bars (unless posted and provided you are not under the influence)
- State/national parks
- State/national forests
- Wildlife Management Areas
- Places of worship (however, since places of worship are private property, they may post signs prohibiting firearms)
Locations where concealed carry is prohibited, even for permit holders, include:
- Public or private elementary, middle or secondary school building and grounds
- School buses
- Portions of a building or facility under the temporary, exclusive control of a public or private school where signs are posted
- Child care centers while children are present
- Any jail, lockup or correctional facility
- State hospitals and grounds
- Private establishments that have posted a sign banning guns on their premises
- Places of employment, public or private, if the employer restricts the carry or possession of firearms by its employees
- Any public place when under the influence of alcohol, a controlled substance or any combination thereof
- Minnesota State Capitol areas and other state-owned or state-leased property within the Twin Cities metropolitan area (without commissioner permission)
- Minnesota Zoological Garden
- The Bayport WMA in Washington County, the Hastings WMA in Dakota County and the Raguet WMA in Scott and Carver Counties
- Innkeepers may refuse to admit or refuse service or accommodations to any person the innkeeper reasonably believes is bringing firearms into the hotel
- State game refuges
- Minnesota courts have ruled that a church may prohibit firearms from its property, including parking facilities and parking areas owned or operated by the church, and may notify its employees and the public in any manner it chooses
- Any place where the carrying of firearms is prohibited by federal law
Visit the USCCA Minnesota gun laws page now…
