Panel To Mull Background Checks On Gun Show Sales
ST. PAUL (AP) — A House panel will finally cast a vote on legislation revising the state's gun laws.
The House Public Safety Committee is expected to take up Thursday night a new plan that would extend background checks to close the so-called "gun show loophole" and also help prosecutors crack down on illegal gun owners.
The committee had been set to vote Tuesday night on a bill with universal background checks, but lawmakers scrapped that legislation.
Rep. Michael Paymar, a St. Paul Democrat, says it's a compromise between his own push to require background checks on nearly all gun sales and competing legislation with less-restrictive measures.
Some legislation needs to pass the committee by Friday in order to keep alive the prospect of tighter gun laws this session.