MINNEAPOLIS — Last month, Minneapolis police officer Jamal Mitchell was shot dead by a criminal who shouldn’t have had a gun.
Earlier, in February, a similar scene played out in Burnsville, the killing of three aid workersIn that case the shooter, Shannon Goeden had requested the courts to restore his gun rightsHe was not given permission.
But what about the hundreds of other criminals who asked the same thing?
In five years, 1,448 petitions have been filed in Minnesota to restore gun and ammunition rights. They were originally dropped for convictions including drug offenses, assault, robbery and terroristic threats. The courts have approved more than half of the petitions, mostly for people who had stayed out of trouble and were seeking hunting or personal protection. People like Troy Horning.
“They’re people who are law abiding. You know, mature enough and understand the responsibility of carrying a real firearm,” Horning said.
WCCO handled case after case from 2019 through 2023. Of the restored rights, two people subsequently had weapons offenses — both misdemeanors.
In one case, the person had a gun in a shotgun zone with an invalid permit. The other was for carrying a gun under the influence of alcohol. A third person was convicted of drug possession.
Judge Jerome Abrams has taken over as a judge and must determine whether there is good reason to restore gun rights to convicts.
“I think what you found is very consistent with the nature of the crimes and misdemeanors in the community. The people who are getting their firearms back are probably not the people who are committing new serious crimes in the community,” Abrams said.
It’s a similar story for criminals whose petitions were denied. One man whose rights were denied was later convicted of a violation after police found guns in his bedroom. A handful of people withdrew their petitions or asked for them to be dismissed after being charged with crimes, some involving a firearm.
We have found convictions for things like assault, disturbing the peace, driving under the influence and speeding for people whose rights have been restored and denied.
“Well, I think the data suggests that it [working]”I think the data supports the fact that so far the judicial review or role in that process has been pretty good. I mean, it’s consistent. In other words, we’re not giving guns back to people who want to commit crimes with guns. The fact is that some of the people who get their gun rights back commit other crimes, but they don’t use the guns as part of that,” Abrams said.
What does the data show about criminals in Minnesota who are caught with a gun when they were previously prohibited from doing so?
Tuesday at 10 p.m., WCCO discusses the need to hold gun owners accountable and speaks with a mother who is grieving after her daughter was killed by a gunman.
