Gov. Walz says he’ll hold town halls on guns without agreement on special session

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said Wednesday he will start holding town halls with community members about a possible assault-weapons ban as a legislative agreement on gun policy changes continues to elude him.

Speaking to reporters at the State Capitol, Walz said DFL and GOP leaders remain at an impasse over a possible special session on gun violence solutions. DFLers have been pushing for a ban on assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines ever since the mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church and School, but Republicans are focusing on funding for mental health and school security instead of firearm access.

Walz, who vowed to call a special session in the aftermath of the Annunciation shooting, indicated Wednesday it wouldn’t be productive to do so without securing a bipartisan deal. Any legislation needs bipartisan support in the tied House, and it’s unclear if Democrats, who hold a one-seat edge in the Senate, are united on the bans.

“If we’re going to hold a special session on safety of our children and safety of our streets and safety on gun violence, we need to talk about guns.” Walz said. “And if the folks who hold veto power over this, which they do because of the makeup of the Legislature, if they say that’s not going to happen, calling a special session is going to be a waste of money and a waste of time.”

House Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, said in a statement Wednesday she has told Walz that Republicans will show up if he calls a special session. But, she said, “what we will not do is agree to pass a gun ban that hasn’t been written and so far has no level of detail we can even discuss.”

Walz signaled he plans to maintain pressure on GOP lawmakers and keep the topic in the public eye with town halls. The governor’s office is talking with the House and Senate DFL caucuses about holding the town halls in the coming weeks.

“I’m going to be at town halls with some of these folks. These parents, and with these clergy and with doctors and with others,” Walz said.

“Protecting lives is a sacred duty. While we cannot erase the violence that has already occurred, you can make it far more difficult for someone to obtain these weapons tomorrow,” their letter read.

Clergy and other community members have been pressuring Walz to call a special session. Last week, state medical association leaders and emergency room physicians who treated some of the Annunciation students held a news conference calling for action.

Dr. Tim Kummer, an emergency physician at Hennepin Healthcare, described trying to determine whether blood on students’ soaked uniforms belonged to them or to a classmate they were trying to shield.

“I saw the horror in the eyes of these children,” he said. “I saw the fear of parents desperate to know if their child was alive. And I heard the screams of mothers and fathers when they were told their child had been murdered.”

Walz said he believes the bans could possibly save lives and that he simply wants legislators to take a vote. If Republicans oppose it, he said, they “should be proudly on the floor upstairs voting no on a bill to ban them.”