Judge’s strike-down of binary trigger ban spotlights Minnesota’s habit of ‘monstrous’ omnibus bills

ST. PAUL — Ramsey County Judge Leonardo Castro struck down Minnesota’s binary trigger ban Monday, citing a violation of the state’s “single subject” clause — and sparking conversation over the Minnesota Legislature’s use of “omnibus bills.”

Omnibus bills are single pieces of legislation that bundle several smaller pieces of legislation into one large bill. While the Minnesota Constitution states that bills must stay within the bounds of a “single subject,” topics outside the omnibus bill’s intended subject sometimes creep in.

In the case of the 2024 bill, Castro ruled against one provision banning binary triggers — a device added to a firearm that allows it to fire once when the trigger is pulled and again when it’s released — which had been added to “a bill for an act relating to ta