1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to firearms; permitting sheriffs outside of 
  1.3             municipalities to consent to the furnishing of 
  1.4             firearms to minors under 14 years of age; amending 
  1.5             Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 609.66, subdivision 1.
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 609.66, 
  1.8   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.9      Subdivision 1.  [MISDEMEANOR AND GROSS MISDEMEANOR CRIMES.] 
  1.10  (a) Whoever does any of the following is guilty of a crime and 
  1.11  may be sentenced as provided in paragraph (b): 
  1.12     (1) recklessly handles or uses a gun or other dangerous 
  1.13  weapon or explosive so as to endanger the safety of another; or 
  1.14     (2) intentionally points a gun of any kind, capable of 
  1.15  injuring or killing a human being and whether loaded or 
  1.16  unloaded, at or toward another; or 
  1.17     (3) manufactures or sells for any unlawful purpose any 
  1.18  weapon known as a slungshot or sand club; or 
  1.19     (4) manufactures, transfers, or possesses metal knuckles or 
  1.20  a switch blade knife opening automatically; or 
  1.21     (5) possesses any other dangerous article or substance for 
  1.22  the purpose of being used unlawfully as a weapon against 
  1.23  another; or 
  1.24     (6) outside of a municipality and without the parent's or 
  1.25  guardian's consent or without the consent of the local sheriff, 
  2.1   furnishes a child under 14 years of age, or as a parent or 
  2.2   guardian permits the child to handle or use, outside of the 
  2.3   parent's or guardian's presence, a firearm or airgun of any 
  2.4   kind, or any ammunition or explosive.  
  2.5      Possession of written evidence of prior consent signed by 
  2.6   the minor's parent or guardian is a complete defense to a charge 
  2.7   under clause (6).  
  2.8      Possession of written evidence of prior consent signed by 
  2.9   the local sheriff when the child is participating in an 
  2.10  adult-supervised organized target shooting program is a complete 
  2.11  defense to a charge under clause (6). 
  2.12     (b) A person convicted under paragraph (a) may be sentenced 
  2.13  as follows: 
  2.14     (1) if the act was committed in a public housing zone, as 
  2.15  defined in section 152.01, subdivision 19, a school zone, as 
  2.16  defined in section 152.01, subdivision 14a, or a park zone, as 
  2.17  defined in section 152.01, subdivision 12a, to imprisonment for 
  2.18  not more than one year or to payment of a fine of not more than 
  2.19  $3,000, or both; or 
  2.20     (2) otherwise, including where the act was committed on 
  2.21  residential premises within a zone described in clause (1) if 
  2.22  the offender was at the time an owner, tenant, or invitee for a 
  2.23  lawful purpose with respect to those residential premises, to 
  2.24  imprisonment for not more than 90 days or to payment of a fine 
  2.25  of not more than $700, or both. 
  2.26     Sec. 2.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  2.27     Section 1 is effective June 1, 1999, and applies to acts 
  2.28  committed on or after that date.