Olson: Should the next school shooter be able to use an assault rifle? Republicans seem to think so.

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Repetitive, redundant and boring.

That was the dismissive reaction I received from a trusted colleague when I shared that I was focused on the gun safety debate at the State Capitol that followed the deadly Aug. 27 shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church.

Excuse me? This colleague has young children, lives in south Minneapolis and is unfailingly compassionate.

The colleague, however, long ago was resigned to the familiar cycle that follows a mass shooting: shock, horror and public mourning followed by legislative inaction.

The colleague pointed to the predictable cycle that followed the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre when 26 students and teachers were killed. Congress did nothing to impede access to assault rifles.

Gov. Tim Walz and the overwhelming majority of DFLers in the Legislature want to convene a special session to ban assault rifles and high-capacity magazines. But they can’t do it alone. They need Republican votes, and it appears the GOP is not the least bit interested in doing anything about access to guns.

My exasperated colleague was angry with the DFL and wanted to know why the Democrats didn’t ban assault rifles when they controlled both the House, Senate and governor’s office in 2023 and 2024?

I explained that even then the DFL margin was too thin, and Republican votes were needed for passage of gun restrictions.

At the Minnesota Capitol on Monday, Democrat and Republican lawmakers heard the most painful testimony from Annunciation parents, Minneapolis trauma doctors and faith leaders.

I cannot do justice to the power of their testimony, but it’s available online for those who want to understand the trauma left behind after more than 100 bullets rain down on schoolchildren for two minutes.

“Church pews,” Maldonado said. “This is not safety for our children. This is not protection for our communities. This is survival by chance and our children deserve better than this.”

Brittany Haeg tearfully detailed the injuries suffered by her 6-year-old, David. His spleen was lacerated. His left torso was singed by shrapnel and bullets grazed his head.

She wants legislators to follow other nations that banned assault rifles after mass shootings. “Our children continue to die because our laws treat guns as more important than human life,” Haeg said.

Brock Safe explained that his 10-year-old daughter Astoria survived but the friend beside her did not. “Astoria was literally praying, literally praying next to one of her best friends who was murdered in cold blood,” he said.

Hennepin Healthcare trauma surgeon Dr. Rachel Payne cried for several minutes as she described triaging every child brought into to the Minneapolis hospital that morning.

Dr. Tim Kummer, an assistant medical director at Hennepin EMS, was first on the scene at Annunciation. He explained how powerful assault rifles turn small tragedies into mass casualties and reminded lawmakers that gun violence is nothing new, especially in communities of color.

“It angers me that it took a church full of children for us to gather here today,” Kummer said. “And yet even now, you debate if you should act.”

After hearing the testimony, members of the Gun Violence Prevention Working Group were expected to offer proposals. Democrats offered several. What did Republicans bring? Nothing beyond junk science about antidepressants and vague notions without written bills.

Sen. Glenn Gruenhagen, R-Glencoe, suggested eliminating gun-free zones, meaning he wants more guns in more places. He decried youth access to prescription SSRIs, a class of antidepressant.

Sen. Rich Draheim, R-Madison Lake, lamented the scourge of access to marijuana.

Sen. Eric Lucero, R-St. Michael, waxed biblical, inexplicably bringing Cain killing Abel into the conversation. Sen. Andrew Mathews, of Princeton, fretted about new restrictions impeding the lifestyles of law-abiding gun owners. Sen. Keri Heintzeman of Nisswa didn’t say a word.

Not a single Republican, not even the gun lobbyist, explained why in the world anyone needs to own an assault rifle for anything other than mayhem.

We know the schoolchildren at Annunciation won’t be the last to hide in fear. When it comes to mass shootings in America, it’s a matter of where and when, not if.

“It is up to our lawmakers to decide what the next mass shooter is armed with. You have that power,” Maldonado told the committee Monday.

Do we want the next shooter to have a high-capacity magazine and an arsenal of assault rifles? For now, Republicans are implicitly saying yes. They appear willing to live with the consequences.

It’s hard to feel anything other than resignation right now. I hope those of us who want to be free from the constant threat of mass shootings can find a way out of a dangerous boredom with the repetition or, worse yet, acceptance of a tragic cycle.