Change in Firearm on School Property

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CHAPTER 268–S.F.No. 2339
An act
relating to public safety; increasing the criminal penalty for possessing
dangerous weapons on school property while lowering the criminal penalty
for brandishing, using, or possessing replica firearms and BB guns on school
property;amending Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 609.66, subdivision 1d.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 609.66, subdivision 1d, is amended to read:
Subd. 1d.Possession on school property; penalty.(a) Except as provided under
paragraphs(d)and(f), whoever possesses, stores, or keeps a dangerous weapon
while knowingly on school property is
guilty of a felony and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more thanfiveyears
or to payment of a fine of not more than$10,000, or both.
(b) Whoever uses or brandishes a replica firearm or a BB gun while knowingly on
school property is guilty of a gross misdemeanor.
(c)Whoever possesses, stores, or keeps a replica firearm or a BB gunwhile
knowinglyon school property is guilty of amisdemeanor.
(d)Notwithstanding paragraph (a),(b),or (c),it is a misdemeanor for a person
authorized to carry a firearm under the provisions of a permit or otherwise to carry a
firearm on or about the person’s clothes or person in a location the person knows is school
property. Notwithstanding section609.531, a firearm carried in violation of this paragraph
is not subject to forfeiture.
(e)As used in this subdivision:
(1) “BB gun” means a device that fires or ejects a shot measuring .18 of an inch
or less in diameter;
(2) “dangerous weapon” has the meaning given it in section609.02, subdivision 6;
(3) “replica firearm” has the meaning given it in section609.713; and
(4) “school property” means:
(i) a public or private elementary, middle, or secondary school building and its
improved grounds, whether leased or owned by the school;
(ii) a child care center licensed under chapter 245A during the period children are
present and participating in a child care program;
(iii) the area within a school bus when that bus is being used by a school to
transport one or more elementary, middle, or secondary school students to and from
school-related activities, including curricular, cocurricular, noncurricular, extracurricular,
and supplementary activities; and
(iv) that portion of a building or facility under the temporary, exclusive control
of a public or private school, a school district, or an association of such entities where
conspicuous signs are prominently posted at each entrance that give actual notice to
persons of the school-related use.
(f)This subdivision does not apply to:
(1) active licensed peace officers;
(2) military personnel or students participating in military training, who are on-duty,
performing official duties;
(3) persons authorized to carry a pistol under section624.714while in a motor
vehicle or outside of a motor vehicle to directly place a firearm in, or retrieve it from, the
trunk or rear area of the vehicle;
(4) persons who keep or store in a motor vehicle pistols in accordance with section
624.714or624.715or other firearms in accordance with section97B.045;
(5) firearm safety or marksmanship courses or activities conducted on school
property;
(6) possession of dangerous weapons, BB guns, or replica firearms by a ceremonial
color guard;
(7) a gun or knife show held on school property;
(8) possession of dangerous weapons, BB guns, or replica firearms with written
permission of the principal or other person having general control and supervision of the
school or the director of a child care center; or
(9) persons who are on unimproved property owned or leased by a child care center,
school, or school district unless the person knows that a student is currently present on the
land for a school-related activity.
(g)Notwithstanding section471.634, a school district or other entity composed
exclusively of school districts may not regulate firearms, ammunition, or their respective
components, when possessed or carried by nonstudents or nonemployees, in a manner
that is inconsistent with this subdivision.
EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective August 1, 2010, and applies to crimes
committed on or after that date.
Presented to the governor April 19, 2010
Signed by the governor April 22, 2010, 12:37 p.m.