'Ghost guns' without serial numbers now legal in Minnesota after court ruling originally appeared on Bring Me The News.
The Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled that it's not illegal to possess a so-called "ghost gun," a firearm that lacks a serial number and is often assembled in parts, after more than a year of deliberations.
In its opinion issued Wednesday, Minnesota's high court determined that the definition of a serial number under state law is unclear since it hinges on a federal law that doesn't require gun markings.
The opinion reverses a Court of Appeals decision that reinstated charges against a man who was in possession of a ghost gun, which he assembled from parts that he purchased, during a 2022 rollover crash in Fridley.
Justice Paul Thissen’s majority opinion concluded that Minnesota's serial number law only applies to a fully manufactured firearm. It was supported by Justices Anne McKeig, Gordon Moore and Sarah Hennesy.
"We should exercise caution before criminalizing the conduct of a large group of Minnesotans who have never understood their behavior to be criminal,” Thissen wrote in his opinion.
Chief Justice Natalie Hudson and Justice Karl Procaccini dissented, while Justice Theodora Gaïtas recused herself from participating in the case.
"By any measure, the vast majority of firearms in the country are not registered in any database,” Hudson wrote in a dissenting opinion. "But the lack of a registry does not mean that the statutory imposition of a serial number is a futile endeavor, as the court claims."
It took 14 months for the the state Supreme Court to deliver its opinion.
A final decision on whether and how to regulate ghost guns is now in the hands of the Minnesota Legislature.
State Sen. Ron Latz (DFL-St. Louis Park) announced Thursday that he plans to introduce legislation "closing the loop hole" and "aligning state law with federal law" next session
“No one could’ve foreseen a world where you could print the parts to make a gun at home, but that’s the world we live in today,” Latz said in a statement. “This decision makes it clear that our state gun laws need to reflect this new reality and the increasing prevalence of ghost guns."
Attorney General Keith Ellison spoke out Wednesday and called the opinion “concerning."
“Ghost guns, by definition, circumvent many of the protections in place to ensure firearms are only put into the hands of qualified buyers, allowing them to more easily be used for criminal acts and to be trafficked,” Ellison said in a statement. “Leaders in Minnesota need to work together to fill this gap in state law, ban ghost guns, and keep people safe.”
Minnesota's current serial number law was enacted in 1994 and has since come into play in hundreds of criminal cases, MPR News reported, citing state courts data.
This story was originally reported by Bring Me The News on Aug 8, 2025, where it first appeared.
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