NW Twin Cities

Minnesota Rep. Marion O’Neill recently introduced her bill to increase penalties against convicted gang members for carrying firearms. 

If her bill is passed and becomes law, it will become a felony charge for a convicted gang member to be caught in possession of a firearm.

This bill came about to address the concerns of both citizens and law enforcement of gang members carrying firearms due to purchases and the 2019 record breaking 28 shooting deaths in St. Paul. Gang members primarily committed aforementioned shootings, according to her announcement on Facebook.

“In 2019, nearly all the gun violence in the metro was committed by gang members. Currently, prosecutors are not pursuing gun charges against those who sell guns to those prohibited to possess them because the penalty level is not high enough,” O’Neill said. “That needs to change.”

This proposed bill is considered a more appropriate and acceptable measure of gun control as opposed to infringing upon the Second Amendment with a Red Flag bill.