Gov. Tim Walz signed two executive orders on Tuesday to address gun violence after his push to take up the issue during a special session failed to gain traction in the narrowly divided Legislature.
The orders establish a new “Statewide Safety Council, provide more data on what gun violence costs our state and improve education on safe storage,” according to a release from the governor’s office.
The orders come about four months after a shooter killed two children and injured more than two dozen others at the Annunciation Catholic Church and School in Minneapolis.
Soon after the shooting, Walz advocated for state lawmakers to send him bills banning assault-style weapons and large-capacity magazines.
He promised to call legislators back to the State Capitol in St. Paul to vote on those and other safety measures. But with many Republicans vocally opposed to any forms of gun control and some Democrats also declining to publicly support high-profile bans, Walz has since backed off that pledge.
The executive orders are not as far-reaching as the broad bans Walz had discussed in the past.
