Lawsuit accuses Minnesota of violating truckers’ constitutional right to bear arms

A lawsuit filed this week accuses the state of Minnesota of infringing on the Second Amendment rights of two truck drivers by failing to recognize other states’ firearm permits.

The lawsuit (McCoy v. Jacobson) was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota on January 7, 2025 by Liberty Justice Center, a group that describes itself as a nonprofit “public-interest litigation firm.”

The suit was filed on behalf of truckers David McCoy, who is a Texas resident with a Texas License to Carry, and Jeffrey Johnson, who is a Georgia resident and has a Florida Concealed Weapons License and a Georgia Weapons Carry License.

The lawsuit accuses Minnesota of violating the two truckers’ constitutional right to bear arms in public and carry them in their trucks across state borders by currently excluding 29 states (including Texas, Georgia, and Florida) from the list of states’ firearms permits it will recognize.

Each year, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety reviews laws from other states governing the issuance of permits to carry weapons and choses which states will receive permit to carry reciprocity.

“Even though both men have lawfully issued firearm licenses, they are currently prevented from carrying firearms for self-defense while in Minnesota because the state prohibits carrying a firearm for self-defense, in public or in one’s vehicle, without a Minnesota Permit to Carry or a permit recognized by the state … Due to this law, neither Mr. McCoy nor Mr. Johnson can exercise their constitutional right to bear arms for self-defense due to fear of prosecution, which could jeopardize the credentials needed for their profession,” Liberty Justice Center said in a news release announcing the lawsuit.

“Minnesota’s refusal to honor other states’ lawfully issued firearm permits places an unreasonable burden on the Second Amendment rights of individuals like Mr. McCoy and Mr. Johnson who regularly cross state lines in the course of their work,” said Loren Seehase, Senior Counsel at the Liberty Justice Center. “There is no other constitutional right that individuals are prohibited from exercising until they’ve obtained permission from the state. No one loses their right to free speech or freedom of religion by simply driving from Texas to Minnesota—so why should they lose their right to self-defense? We ask the court to intervene and require the state of Minnesota to honor nonresidents’ Second Amendment rights.