Minnesota gubernatorial candidate Rebecca Otto just released a letter calling on the Minnesota House and Senate, which returned to session this morning, to ban assault type rifles and bump stocks, and to institute universal background checks.

Otto is currently State Auditor, and is running in a fairly large field for Governor. Her main opponent is NRA funded Congressman Tim Walz, who has been fairly silent in recent days since the latest massacre of 17 children and school staff in Florida.

On the first day of the 2017-2018 legislative session, State Auditor and gubernatorial candidate Rebecca Otto urged the Minnesota legislature to take immediate action on gun safety — including banning assault-type rifles like the AR-15 and bump stocks as well as passing universal background checks to close the gun show or private sale loophole.

“Enough is enough. It is way past time for us to act on gun safety legislation,” said Otto. “States must lead the way on gun safety now as the U.S. Congress and Trump have shown they are paralyzed by NRA dollars.”

Otto cited two specific bills that she hopes the Minnesota legislature will pass this year for Governor Dayton to sign. SF 1261/HF 1669, which is sponsored by Sen. Ron Latz, requires universal background checks for all gun purchases made between private parties, and all firearm transactions to be recorded on a federal form, which would close the private sale loophole.

Otto also supports HF 2781, sponsored by Rep. John Considine, which would make bump stocks illegal by changing their classification to “trigger activators,” which are currently illegal in Minnesota.

In addition to this currently proposed legislation, Otto also supports taking the following actions to prevent incidents of gun violence: banning assault-type rifles like the AR-15 as well as high-capacity magazines, allowing law enforcement to use their discretion to prevent individuals with a history of domestic violence or other warning signs from obtaining firearms, extended waiting periods for gun purchases, and studying mass shootings and gun violence as a public health issue in order to develop the evidence necessary for gun safety laws to survive court challenges.

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