Local Firearms Dealer Reacts to Attorney General Keith Ellison Suing Fleet Farm

(KNSI) — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is suing Fleet Farm, alleging the retailer was involved in gun trafficking.

Ellison says employees sold 37 guns to two people over 16 months, and one of those guns was used in a shooting at a St. Paul bar that left one person dead and 14 others injured. He is accusing the two of being straw buyers who purchase firearms legally and then turn around and sell them to people who can’t legally own one.

A press release from the AG’s office says Fleet Farm employees missed red flags like buying multiple firearms at once. A check of Minnesota’s gun statutes does not show buying multiple handguns or long guns at one time from a store that holds a Federal Firearms License is against the law, provided the person making the purchase has a permit to do so and has passed all required background checks and waiting periods.

Jason Falconer, who owns Tactical Advantage full-service gun range and FFL retailer, says neither Fleet Farm nor its employees should be on the hook because if someone passes everything and gives no indicators that they’re a straw buyer, “I don’t know how you can hold the store responsible for that when his intent is to turn around and sell [guns] on the street, he’s pretty savvy about what he’s doing, and to hold the store accountable for that seems to be kind of unrealistic.”

Ellison also says the buyers using cash should have raised red flags, but Falconer countered that by saying more people are buying guns with cash because some credit card companies at a regional level have reportedly been declining firearms transactions after the Federal government required a new merchant code separating guns and ammunition purchases from general sporting goods. Gun rights advocates say that doing that could lead to unauthorized surveillance. Proponents argue that the code tracks where money is spent, not what people buy.

He adds that the lawsuit is well-timed and looks good on paper just before an election where surging crime rates are a major issue for voters, but Ellison getting a conviction on the matter is another story.

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