Annunciation parents’ emotional plea to lawmakers: Ban assault weapons

Parents plead with lawmakers over gun control

Parents of Annunciation school children gave emotional testimony on Monday as they pleaded with Minnesota lawmakers to ban certain assault weapons. FOX 9?s Rob Olson describes the meeting held prior to any potential special session.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - As Carla Maldonado spoke to lawmakers, she did so through tears, painfully describing rushing to Annunciation School after she heard there had been a mass shooting on the morning of Aug. 27.

"I ran toward the school," she said in testimony Monday. "My heart pounded in the pit of my stomach. I experienced a level of fear and horror I never knew existed."

Her children survived. Two others did not. 

Many more were injured, including Malia Kimbrell’s daughter, who continues to recover, both physically and emotionally.

"Can you even imagine cleansing bullet wounds on your 9-year-old that they suffered while sitting in church?" Kimbrell asked lawmakers, telling them it now rests with them "to decide what type of weapon our next mass shooter is armed with."

Preparing for special session

What we know:

The Minnesota Senate working group met for four hours, hearing more than a dozen proposals to respond to gun violence.

Other ideas presented including a stricter gun storage laws, a crackdown on "ghost guns," restricting binary triggers and funding for a state Officer of Gun Violence Prevention.

But at the top of the list is the proposed assault weapons and high-capacity magazine ban, which is what the Annunciation parents who spoke said was most urgent.

"What happened on August 27 cannot be erased," said Brock Safe, whose daughter survived the shooting. "This must serve as a catalyst for meaningful change. We cannot continue to live in a society where a deeply troubled individual can walk into a gun store and legally buy assault style weapons."

Physician support

Dig deeper:

 Legislators also heard from physicians who treated the kids that day, including Dr. Tim Kummer, who was the first physician on the scene at Annunciation.

"The level of chaos and the depth of suffering was because of the type of weapon used," Kummer said.

"At Annunciation, the shooter fired more than 100 rounds with a high-powered rifle. That is why there were so many victims, that is why the injuries were so severe. The type of gun matters."

Archbishop Bernard Hebda also testified, saying the simplest starting point in addressing gun violence is the guns themselves, and said the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops support common sense gun laws, including bans such as these.

A political divide

The other side:

Rob Doar, the Sr. Vice President of the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, testified that they don’t believe assault weapons bans necessarily curb mass shootings.

He urged lawmakers to find solutions that would get broader support, such as better mental health resources that can identify troubled individuals before they buy weapons.

"There’s no background check that can detect a person's internal crisis," Doar said, "but there are things that can be done to help identify those with an impending crisis and connect them to resources."

Republican Senators on the panel also indicated they’d prefer that approach, as well as increased funding to improve school security.

"We must ensure safe schools, safe communities and expanded access to mental health services," said Senator Eric Lucero, Republican from St. Michael.

What's next:

The panel meets again on Wednesday morning to hash through ideas and search for what will be brought into a special session.