Gov. Tim Walz plans special session on guns after Catholic school shooting

Minnesota Gov Tim Walz is preparing to call state lawmakers back to the Capitol for a special session on gun control as soon as next month after this week s shooting in a Minneapolis Catholic school church that killed two children and injured others Walz and fellow Democratic-Farmer-Labor leaders including Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison have renewed calls for more gun control laws in latest days They have advocated for policies including a ban on semiautomatic rifles and a magazine limit limit It s time to take serious action at the State Capitol to address gun violence the governor declared in a Friday post on X An administration official reported Walz is making calls to state lawmakers in preparation for a prospective special session New gun control bills could face headwinds in the Legislature where the Senate and House are closely divided between the parties DFLers have seats to Republicans in the Senate and Republicans have seats to DFLers in the House Republicans generally oppose new gun control decree so passage of any bill will require bipartisan sponsorship That won t change after the House likely returns to a - tie after a special vote for former DFL House Speaker Melissa Hortman s seat on Sept Even then DFLers will still need at least one GOP vote to pass major gun control bills Gun control bills could have a smoother ride in the Senate which will remain at its current balance until special elections for two vacant seats in November Republicans commented they were surprised by news of Walz s plans to call lawmakers back to the Capitol Republicans are committed to addressing the root causes of violence supporting safe schools and increasing access to mental fitness materials reported Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson R-East Grand Forks Calling for a special session without even consulting legislative leaders is not a serious way to begin This is a partisan stunt from a governor who continues to engage in destructive political rhetoric House Speaker Lisa Demuth R-Cold Spring reported she had not heard anything about plans from the governor My expectation would have been that he would have had a few type of communication to say that he is doing this she reported Related Articles St Paul computer systems slowly return to life after July cyberattack Hemmingsen-Jaeger wins DFL primary for Nicole Mitchell seat in Woodbury Tuesday primary to pick DFL nominee for former Sen Nicole Mitchell s seat How Minnesota third graders made blueberry the state muffin Judge s strike-down of binary trigger ban spotlights Minnesota s habit of monstrous omnibus bills