North Dakota and Minnesota have reached an agreement on firearms license reciprocity.
North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem announced Wednesday that Minnesota will recognize Class 1 licenses from North Dakota but not Class 2 licenses, which don’t require a shooting proficiency test, effective immediately.
Stenehjem said that his office had tried for about a decade to gain reciprocity in Minnesota, but Minnesota’s requirement that another state’s laws be “substantially” similar to its own prevented the efforts.
Earlier this year, the Minnesota legislature removed the word “substantially” from the requirement, and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety determined Tuesday that North Dakota’s laws met the new standard.
The decision also affects Minnesotans who had their North Dakota concealed weapon licenses suspended two years ago after the North Dakota legislature changed the eligibility law for non-residents. Those Minnesotans can now apply to the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation to have their licenses reinstated.
