SAINT PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota House Public Safety and Finance Committee passes a bill that would let chiefs of police and sheriffs look at certain expunged records to determine if they’re disqualified for a permit to carry.
Clay County Sheriff Mark Empting says some of the expunged records he can’t see include domestic-related offenses, weapons-related arrests and patterns of threatening behavior.
“Right now in many cases we are making those decisions with what I would describe as a 10,000 foot view of the individual’s history. Expunged records can limit or remove our access to information that may be directly relevant to firearm eligibility,” Empting explained while testifying on behalf of the Minnesota Sheriffs’ Association.
Empting says the bill isn’t an argument against expungement to help people become rehabilitated.
