Security panel tackles question of guns, metal detectors at Minnesota Capitol

Guns and metal detectors at the State Capitol could become a sticking point this fall among members of a committee that advises lawmakers on security issues.

The committee, which includes a handful of legislators, Supreme Court Chief Justice Natalie Hudson and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, met Wednesday for the first time since former DFL leader Melissa Hortman and her husband were shot and killed in June.

While the group, known as the Advisory Committee on Capitol Security, did not make any recommendations, comments from members suggested that whether to add weapons screening systems will be a key question in coming months.

“I personally favor weapon screening systems as well as more cameras and bag checks, but I know that I am just one vote on this committee,” Flanagan said during the meeting.

Minnesota is one of about 10 states that don’t require security screening, such as metal detectors or X-ray machines, to enter their capitol buildings. Under current law, Minnesotans with a permit to carry can bring a gun inside the Capitol complex.

Flanagan’s comments echo those of Gov. Tim Walz, who said over the summer that the Legislature should consider banning guns at the Capitol.

The committee will meet more regularly than it has recently, Flanagan said, and work toward a set of recommendations for the Legislature. Any updates the panel recommends that require funding or a change in state law must be approved by lawmakers, who don’t return for their annual session until February.

“The Minnesota Capitol is often called the People’s House, and no one believes that more than I do,” she said. “But I also believe that the time has come in 2025 to rethink how the People’s House operates.”

Security at the Capitol complex has been under renewed scrutiny since the June assassinations of the Hortmans. State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman, where also shot in their homes but survived their injuries. Vance Boelter is in federal custody awaiting trial for those crimes.

More recent events have intensified the concerns about safety within the Capitol complex. Days after the shootings, a registered lobbyist was charged with “threats of violence” that included the Capitol. The meeting also comes after a naked man was found in the Senate chambers in July. He was arrested after returning to the building multiple times.

Sen. Bonnie Westlin, a Democrat, called for committee members to discuss potential security changes, including weapons screenings, “with an open mind.”

The two Republican legislators on the committee, Sen. Warren Limmer and Rep. Jim Nash, both appeared skeptical of weapons screening systems.

Nash said the committee should not infringe on constitutional rights but instead weigh security concerns with the need to keep the Capitol open to visitors.

“We owe it to Minnesota to do a good job and find the balance,” he said.

Nash also called on the Legislature to fund whatever security recommendations the advisory committee makes, noting that it has not done so in the past.

State officials have said the Capitol building is wired for metal detectors. It’s also possible that lawmakers could fund metal detectors while continuing to allow guns.

“There’s a number of options that I think would be available,” Bob Jacobson, commissioner of the Department of Public Safety, said after the meeting. “I’m just excited that we’re having the discussion.”

“If weapons screening is implemented, Minnesota should follow the approach of Texas and other states and allow permit holders to bypass the screening and continue to carry firearms for self-defense,” Bryan Strawser, chair of the caucus, wrote in a comment to the committee.

The committee received about 200 comments from members of the public who oppose limiting firearms at the Capitol.