Last updated September 2026 · By Nick Hall, who tracks the Justice Department’s Second Amendment Section filings and reads the complaint before the headline
Quick take: The Justice Department has sued Minnesota, Minneapolis and St. Paul over the 30-day wait most Minnesotans face to buy a handgun or a semi-auto “military-style” rifle. DOJ says that wait, plus permit delays it puts at nearly 60 days in the two cities, violates the Second Amendment for anyone buying a gun to protect their home.
- What happened: The United States filed United States v. Minnesota, case 0:26-cv-04123, in the District of Minnesota on September 24, 2026.
- Why it matters: It goes after the two statutes every Minnesota handgun buyer without a carry permit has to clear, sections 624.7131 and 624.7132.
- What’s next: The state and both cities answer the complaint, and the 30-day wait stays in force until a judge rules otherwise.
- Who to watch: Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon, whose Civil Rights Division Second Amendment Section brought the case.
Most waiting-period lawsuits come from gun groups and a couple of named plaintiffs. This one comes from the United States itself, and it’s aimed at the state plus the two police departments that process the paperwork. I read the 13-page complaint and both statutes it attacks. Here’s what the case covers, and what it leaves alone.
Deals of the Day
Today's best discounts · Updated 3x daily
Gun Deals
See All →
Ammo Deals
See All →
Table of Contents
What the DOJ Minnesota Complaint Actually Targets
The complaint names three defendants: the State of Minnesota, the City of Minneapolis and the City of St. Paul. It is signed by lawyers from the Civil Rights Division’s Second Amendment Section and by the office of Daniel N. Rosen, the United States Attorney for Minnesota.
It is also narrower than the headlines. The complaint says flatly that it “does not concern public carry.” It is about keeping a gun at home, “where the need for defense of self, family, and property is most acute,” in the Supreme Court’s own words from Heller.
So the target is the buyer with no carry permit. DOJ puts Minnesota’s population at 5,830,405 and counts 375,551 permit-to-carry holders, which is how it gets to “over 93 percent” of residents who have to go through the wait.
Two Routes, One 30-Day Wait Under Minnesota Law
Minnesota gives a buyer two paths to a pistol or a “semiautomatic military-style assault weapon,” the statutory label the complaint says covers AR-15 style rifles. Both paths can run up to a month.
Path one is the transfer report. The seller reports the sale to the buyer’s local police chief or sheriff, and section 624.7132, subdivision 4, says nobody can hand over the gun until 30 days after that report is delivered. The chief or sheriff can waive all or part of the wait in writing once they decide the buyer isn’t disqualified, or if there’s a threat to the life of the buyer or someone in the household.
Path two is the transferee permit, the “permit to purchase.” Under section 624.7131, the chief or sheriff “shall issue a transferee permit or deny the application within 30 days.” The permit is free, it is valid statewide, and it expires after one year. DOJ calls that “an annual thirty-day waiting period every single year” for people who only want to defend their home.
Carry permit holders skip both. A valid Minnesota permit to carry counts as a transferee permit under the same statute, and a seller dealing with one doesn’t file a transfer report at all. Under Minnesota gun laws, the carry permit in your wallet is the fast lane, and this lawsuit is built around everyone who doesn’t have one.
The Nearly 60-Day Problem in Minneapolis and St. Paul
The complaint says approvals from the police chiefs in both cities “commonly exceed the statutory limit of 30 days,” and that some buyers have waited nearly 60. It adds a point that should bother anyone regardless of politics: “There is no statutory penalty for law enforcement agencies that fail to act on applications within the statutory 30-day limit.”
According to the complaint, the Minneapolis chief handles Hennepin County permit-to-purchase applications and the St. Paul chief handles Ramsey County’s. That is why the two cities are defendants alongside the state.
“When a person needs to defend their home, they need to defend it now, not thirty to sixty days from now,” said Dhillon in the Justice Department’s release. She went further: “forcing a citizen who has already passed a background check to wait up to sixty days to obtain a firearm is intolerable under the Constitution.”
Why a 1994 Police Statute Is the Whole Ballgame
DOJ isn’t suing under a gun law. It is suing under 34 U.S.C. 12601, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 provision that makes it unlawful for a government to run “a pattern or practice of conduct by law enforcement officers” that strips people of constitutional rights. The theory is simple: officers who enforce an unconstitutional statute are engaged in that pattern.
On the merits, the complaint runs the Bruen test as the Supreme Court restated it this year in Wolford v. Lopez, then cites two circuit rulings: Ortega v. Grisham, where the Tenth Circuit found a seven-day waiting period unconstitutional, and Nguyen v. Bonta, where the Ninth Circuit rejected a 30-day wait between purchases.
Neither court sits over Minnesota, which is in the Eighth Circuit. And the New Mexico waiting period case shows how narrow the relief can be even after a win.
This is the same Section that sued California on July 1 over its Glock ban and handgun roster, and San Jose on September 16 over a $1,591 carry permit fee. A pattern is forming. States and cities that make buying a gun slow or expensive are now defendants in suits brought by the federal government.
What Changes for Minnesota Buyers Right Now
Nothing yet. The complaint asks for a declaratory judgment and a permanent injunction barring enforcement, and it does not ask for emergency relief in the filing itself.
If you buy a handgun in Minneapolis next week, the 30 days still run from the day the transfer report lands, unless your chief waives it. If you’re shopping for a home defense handgun and you already hold a permit to carry, you skip the state wait now, lawsuit or not.
But the wait itself is exposed. Thirty days is the statute. Sixty is the practice. DOJ is suing over both.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Minnesota have a waiting period to buy a handgun?
Yes. Under Minnesota Statutes section 624.7132, subdivision 4, a pistol or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon cannot be delivered until 30 days after the transfer report reaches the buyer’s local police chief or sheriff, unless the chief or sheriff waives some or all of it in writing. Buyers with a valid permit to carry or a transferee permit are exempt from the report.
What is a Minnesota permit to purchase?
It is the transferee permit under section 624.7131. You apply to the police chief where you live, or the sheriff if there is no local chief. The chief or sheriff must issue or deny it within 30 days. It is free, valid statewide, and expires after one year.
Does a Minnesota permit to carry let me skip the waiting period?
Yes. A valid permit to carry issued under section 624.714 counts as a transferee permit, and a seller transferring a pistol or regulated rifle to a permit holder does not have to file a transfer report.
Which guns does the Minnesota waiting period cover?
Pistols and what the statute calls semiautomatic military-style assault weapons, defined in section 624.712, subdivision 7. The DOJ complaint says that category includes AR-15 style rifles. Other rifles and shotguns are not covered by sections 624.7131 and 624.7132.
What is the DOJ lawsuit against Minnesota about?
United States v. Minnesota, case 0:26-cv-04123, was filed in the District of Minnesota on September 24, 2026 against the State of Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. It argues the 30-day wait and permit-to-purchase delays violate the Second Amendment for people buying a gun for home defense, and it is brought under the federal pattern-or-practice statute, 34 U.S.C. 12601.
Has a court blocked the Minnesota waiting period?
No. As of the September 24, 2026 filing there is only a complaint. The complaint asks for a declaratory judgment and a permanent injunction, and Minnesota law still applies until a court rules.
Can a police chief shorten the Minnesota waiting period?
Yes. Section 624.7132 lets the chief of police or sheriff waive all or part of the 30 days in writing if they determine the buyer is not disqualified, or if the buyer needs a gun because of a threat to their life or the life of someone in their household.
Related Reading
- Minnesota Gun Laws: Permit to Carry, Permit to Purchase and Red Flag
- New Mexico’s Waiting Period Lost in Court and Still Applies to You
- DOJ Sues California Over Glock Ban and Handgun Roster
- Best Home Defense Handguns
- US Gun Laws by State: 2026 Directory
5,305+ Gun & Ammo Deals
Updated daily from 200+ top retailers. Filter by category, caliber, action type, and price.
Related Guides
