Minnesota Pushes 5-Year Gun Confiscation Without Conviction

Minnesota Democrats are doubling down on their red flag gun grab, pushing legislation that would strip your firearms for up to five years — without a conviction, without a trial, and soon without even a specialized officer to pull the trigger.

The proposed overhaul of the state's Extreme Risk Protection Order law would extend confiscation orders from one year to five, authorize any rank-and-file officer to file a petition on the spot, and eliminate the requirement that police reimburse gun owners fair market value for surrendered firearms. Faster to take, longer to keep, cheaper to execute.

The NRA is sounding the alarm. In a letter submitted directly to a Minnesota Senate committee last week, the nation's oldest civil rights organization called this what it is: a gun confiscation scheme that obliterates due process for law-abiding citizens.

Minnesota's original red flag law passed in 2023 when Democrats held total control of the Capitol. Republicans refused to back it then, correctly warning it would strip constitutional rights from citizens before any criminal finding. Now those same Democrats want to supercharge it.

Judges have rubber-stamped these orders at a staggering rate — granting 96% of all petitions filed. That is not a justice system. That is an assembly line for disarmament.

The numbers tell the story: 138 ERPOs filed in year one, 314 in 2024, and 60 more in just the first two months of this year. Every single one represents a Minnesotan who lost Second Amendment rights based on an allegation, not a conviction.

Richfield Police Chief Jay Henthorne champions the expansion, calling ERPOs "a tool that's being successful." Successful at what, Chief — bypassing jury trials?

Rep. Cedrick Frazier, DFL-New Hope, claims the law has "saved many lives." He cannot point to a single life saved that existing criminal statutes — statutes that actually protect due process — could not have addressed.

The bill cleared the tied Minnesota House, meaning at least some Republicans crossed the aisle and voted to strip gun owners of their rights. The DFL-led Senate is moving fast.

Minnesota gun owners: your legislators are voting to make it easier, faster, and cheaper to seize your firearms based on a petition from any officer who shows up at your door. Contact your state representative and senator now. A five-year confiscation order with no criminal conviction is not public safety — it is tyranny.