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Honorable Mayor/President and City Council Members/EDA Members January 22, 2018 Page 2 The next section offers a brief discussion of the current City Code sections related to firearms regulations. II. Current City Code The current City Code includes a section which regulates the possession, aiming, and discharge of weapons within the City.' That section defines a "weapon" as being "any gun, pistol, revolver, slingshot, sand club, metal knuckles, daggers, dirk and knife." The Code also goes on to state It shall be unlawful for any person within the limits of the Municipality to handle or have in their possession or under their control any weapon, air gun, switchblade knife or any other dangerous or deadly weapon and it shall be unlawful for any person to aim or discharge a weapon or air gun within the limits of the Municipality. The code also goes on to make certain exceptions from this rule. For instance, authorized peace officers are exempted. Further, individuals who are storing or transporting a weapon "for hunting purposes" that is properly cased are also exempted. Certainly, it would appear that the current City Code's restriction on the discharge of firearms within the City may raise practical issues if the proposed firing range is developed. Additionally, the current City Code may benefit from substantive revisions to ensure compliance with evolutions in this area of law in recent years. The next section will focus on the City's legal authority to regulate firearms within the City. III. Regulation of Firearms As a prefatory note, few topics routinely engender such passionate responses as the discussion of the regulation of firearms. This section seeks solely to outline the explicit authority of the City to regulate firearms as provided by state law. Whether the City should regulate firearms is a policy question that is left to the City Council's discretion.2 Included next is a brief discussion of the more relevant state laws which relate to the City's authority to regulate firearms. Also included is a short review of the Minnesota Personal Protection Act ("MPPA"), which provides individuals with certain rights related to firearms. i Mounds View City Code, Section 702.01, subd. 13. 2 This memorandum is also largely limited to the City's authority as is currently expressed in state law. As this body of law continues to evolve, it is likely to continue to be the subject of legal challenges which may change the scope of this authority. 514948v2 AMB MU205-46