The aftershocks of last week’s horrific shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic school continue to reverberate. While some note the mental health issues surrounding the suspect, others want to focus on the firearms that were used to kill two and injure 17 others.
Minnesota Gov. and former vice presidential candidate Tim Walz (D) is reportedly considering calling an emergency session of the state legislature. The topic? Gun control.
Minnesota residents already suffer under an oppressive gun control regime
Understand that the Gopher State already has a wide array of gun control laws on the state books. Universal background checks for handgun purchases, concealed carry permit requirements, a red flag law, a bump stock ban, and other infringements are already in place.
But that’s not enough for Walz.
The governor posted on X Friday that “it’s time to take serious action at the State Capitol to address gun violence.”
Anti-gunners are busy politicizing last week’s tragedy in Minneapolis
CBS News reported that Walz is testing the waters with state lawmakers to gauge their support for a special session this fall. This follows calls by several prominent Minnesota leaders to ban popular sporting rifles such as the AR-15.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D) on Thursday declared his support for a ban on so-called “assault weapons.”
Control of the state legislature is divided, so Minnesota’s anti-gunners are forced to count on help from their opponents to make significant infringements on gun rights.
However, lawmakers have been successful in enacting red flag laws and expanding background checks in recent years. This may mean that a special session could lead to significant changes in gun laws.
The current makeup of the legislature will change with special elections set for November.
Gun rights supporters in the assembly noted that Walz did not communicate with them that he planned to reconvene the body. House Speaker Lisa Demuth (R) declared her disappointment “to hear through social media, instead of from the governor, that he plans to call a special session.”
The Speaker blasted the politicization of the recent tragedy.
“As we work through this tragedy, we need to lead with grace and cooperation, not political rallies and vitriol,” Demuth said. “I look forward to the coming conversations on how we can most effectively address the evil we saw this week perpetrated against the most vulnerable among us.”
Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) leaders doubled down on focusing on the guns rather than the mental state of the apparently deranged suspect.
Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy (DFL) called for “meaningful change” before again placing all emphasis on gun control as opposed to mental health.
“It is clear that we need to lead on gun violence prevention and act to make tragedies like what happened at Annunciation a thing of the past in Minnesota,” Murphy said in a statement that announced she would speak with her colleagues and Walz about gun control. “No child and no Minnesotan should live in fear of gun violence; not in a school or a church, at a club or a concert.”
Murphy’s counterpart in the Senate, Minority Leader Mark Johnson (R), criticized the lack of openness and bipartisanship from the governor.
“Calling for a special session without even consulting legislative leaders is not a serious way to begin,” Johnson noted. “This is a partisan stunt from a governor who continues to engage in destructive political rhetoric.”
With the current divided composition of the legislature, any special session is likely to be nothing more than political grandstanding.
Only the governor may call a special session of the Minnesota legislature, and it could begin as soon as this month. There’s no better way to show your patriotism than with merch that speaks before you do.
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