State legislators are calling for felony charges against a young Minnesota gun owner to be dropped following a significant state Supreme Court ruling this week.
The Minnesota Supreme Court issued a 4-2 decision Wednesday which said state law “criminalizes the possession of a firearm without a serial number only when the firearm must have a serial number under federal law.”
Federal law does not require privately-made firearms created for personal use to have serial numbers. These types of firearms are often referred to as “ghost guns.”
The Supreme Court case
The Supreme Court’s ruling stems from a February 2022 incident, when law enforcement responded to a single-vehicle rollover crash involving Logan Vagle and found a pistol belonging to Vagle. That pistol did not have a serial number. Vagle was charged with violating Minnesota Statutes 609.667(3), a state law which bans Minnesotans from possessing firearms that lack a serial number.
However, a district court found that Minnesota Statutes 609.667(3) was unconstitutionally vague and dismissed the charge against Vagle. Prosecutors appealed that decision and won a reversal. Eventually, the Minnesota Supreme Court elected to hear the case.
Writing for the majority, Justice Paul Thissen said the statute in question “criminalizes the possession of a firearm that is not identified by a serial number only if federal law requires that a serial number be stamped, engraved, cast, or otherwise conspicuously placed on the firearm. Because federal law does not require a serial number on the firearm that Vagle possessed, we reverse.”
Thissen was joined by Justices Anne McKeig, Sarah Hennesy, and Gordon Moore III. Chief Justice Natalie Hudson and Justice Karl Procaccini dissented, and Justice Theodora Gaitas took no part. All seven justices of the Court were appointed by Democratic governors.
In Vagle’s case, the gun he possessed was a “ghost gun” comprised of parts he purchased, and the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that Vagle was not in breach of Minnesota Statutes 609.667(3) because that exact gun was not subject to federal serial number requirements.
“Minnesota has not established an independent firearm serial number regime, and federal law does not require that Vagle’s pistol have a serial number,” Thissen wrote.
The court’s ruling means that privately-made firearms with no serial number and created for personal use are now legal in Minnesota.
Will charges be dropped against Matthew Walker Anderson?
In May of 2022, Matthew Walker Anderson was charged with violating Minnesota Statutes 609.667(3) after a sheriff’s deputy discovered that Anderson had two rifles without serial numbers. The case, brought by the Sherburne County Attorney’s Office, is still ongoing.
Since charges were filed, Anderson’s family has started a GiveSendGo to assist with the 24-year-old’s legal defense. Anderson’s lawyer has argued the rifles were privately-made, not subject to federal serial number requirements, and therefore not a breach of state law.
After the Supreme Court’s ruling, Anderson’s mother said she believes the charges against her son will be dropped soon. She also thanked those who donated to Anderson’s defense fund, saying, “We could not have done it without you.”
Sen. Andrew Mathews and Rep. Shane Mekeland, who represent Sherburne County in the Minnesota Legislature, issued a statement which called on prosecutors to drop the charges against Anderson.
“In light of the State v. Vagle decision, the charges against Mr. Anderson have no path forward and it’s time for this witch hunt to end so this young man can go on with his life,” said the pair. “These baseless charges and gross misinterpretation of state law already have caused Mr. Anderson to suffer great damages over the last three years and it needs to end now.”
Alpha News reached out to the Sherburne County Attorney’s Office for this story but did not receive a response.
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Author: Luke Sprinkel
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