MINNEAPOLIS — Last month, Minneapolis police officer Jamal Mitchell was shot and killed by a felon who shouldn’t have had a gun .
Before that, in February, a similar scene played out in Burnsville, killing three first responders . In that case, the shooter, Shannon Gooden had asked the courts to restore his gun rights . He was denied.
But what about the hundreds of other felons who asked for the same thing?
Over five years, 1,448 petitions to restore gun and ammo rights have been filed in Minnesota. They were originally stripped for convictions like drug offenses, assault, theft and terroristic threats. The courts approved more than half of them — mainly for people who had stayed out of trouble and requested to hunt or have personal protection. People like Troy Horning.
“It’s people that have been law-abiding. You know, grown up enough and understand enough the responsibility of carrying a live firearm,” Horning said.
WCCO went through case after case from 2019 through 2023. Of the rights restored, two people had a gun offense after — both misdemeanors.