South Hennepin News

Two gun control bills sponsored by Sen. Ron Latz recently failed in the Senate Committee.

The first bill allows law enforcement and family members to petition a court to remove firearms from the possession of an individual considered a danger to themselves or others. The bill includes the ability to petition for an extreme risk protection order.

The second bill requires criminal background checks of individuals receiving a transfer of a firearm. The chief of police or sheriff will check a transferee’s criminal histories, records and warrant information.

Latz has been committed to combating gun violence.

“The rhetoric on social media, in the newspaper, on television, on the radio, and seemingly everywhere else, is condemnation of these hateful acts done by individuals with access to guns,” Latz said following the mass shootings in Ohio and Texas in 2019, according to Home Town Source. “It is true that we can all agree that these deadly attacks must cease. A society where children and adults are unsafe at school, work, the grocery store, a movie theatre, a bar, both private and public places, because individuals who should not have access to guns do in fact have access, is a society that requires change. This is an issue that impacts and demands the attention of every American.”