GOP wants no ‘political posturing’ gun restrictions during special session

MN lawmakers not on same page on gun control

Minnesota lawmakers are not on the same page regarding gun control, with no special session scheduled yet. FOX 9's Corin Hoggard has the latest.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - A special session to potentially address gun violence has not yet been called by Gov. Walz, but leaders within Minnesota’s GOP and DFL parties have already begun negotiations over what they would consider on the table should they convene again in 2025.

Special session priorities

What we know:

Following a mass shooting at the Annunciation Church in south Minneapolis. Gov. Walz posted online that "It's time to take serious action at the State Capitol to address gun violence."

Since then, DFL leaders have said they have begun assembling a working group to establish "comprehensive gun violence prevention efforts" that could be passed in a special session to further prevent tragedies from occurring again.

Leadership from both sides of the aisle have also held meetings designed to find common ground before a special session is called.

Both GOP and DFL leaders held dueling press conferences on Tuesday to outline their collective positions.

MN Democrats on special session negotiations [FULL]

Minnesota Democrats spoke on Tuesday about special session negotiations and gun reform priorities.

DFL assault weapons ban

What they're saying:

Leaders within the DFL have indicated a ban on new sales of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines as a high priority during a special session.

Reports have also suggested that Walz has considered the idea of a constitutional amendment to ban the sale and possession of assault rifles – even though getting an amendment adopted in the state is very difficult.

On Tuesday, DFL House Leader Rep. Zack Stephenson said its members had reached out to GOP leadership with a "good faith offer" that included "provisions that we feel very strongly about, that the community feels very strongly, that families feel very strong about" that included the bans previously outlined.

Rep. Stephenson pointed to the passage of universal background checks and red flag laws in Minnesota as signs of progress that restrictive measures have worked before.

"The state deserves clarity from Republicans about what they are willing to do when it comes to guns," Rep. Stephenson said of potential special session votes. "There are 201 members of the legislature, 100 of them are Republicans. If Republicans would come to the table and do something meaningful on gun violence, we could get it passed. The focus should be on the fact that there are apparently zero of 100 Republicans willing to do something meaningful."

MN House Republicans on special session negotiations [FULL]

Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, and Leader Harry Niska, R-Ramsey, discussed the latest developments on special session negotiations.

GOP focus on school safety, mental health

What they're saying:

As a signal of their priorities, GOP officials released a statement on Tuesday saying that during a special session their party would favorably consider bills related to improving school and student safety, improving mental health access and funding, and improving public safety.

Noticeably absent in the proposal, however, was any mention of furthered gun restrictions for Minnesotans.

"It's become clear to everyone what should have been obvious from the start, that the governor's talk of a special session has been a partisan political stunt from the beginning," said House Floor Leader Rep. Harry Niska on Tuesday. "He has not been interested in finding bipartisan solutions to the problem of school safety, the problem with public safety, the problem in mental health, but has instead been trying to demand something that's really frankly bizarre in the history of special sessions in Minnesota… He's really just interested in trying to politicize a really horrible tragedy, and that is really unfortunate for the state."

While saying that DFL lawmakers "wouldn't give certain bills hearings" when they had a trifecta in the Minnesota Legislature, but now want to "fast-track" those bills through without releasing their language prior to a special session, GOP House Leader Rep. Lisa Demuth said Gov. Walz could better served prioritizing efforts of the session on fraud instead.

Both Demuth and Niska suggested that without bills being written for lawmakers to discuss prior to a special session, calling one amounts to an act of "political posturing" by Gov. Walz.

"What the governor is asking for is that we just pass bills that A, haven't been written yet, and B, have never had committee hearings, and skip past the entire legislative process, ignore the voice of all the other legislators, all of their districts, and just skip straight to the end based on demands that he's making to leadership," said Rep. Niska on Tuesday. "That's never been the way we govern in Minnesota."

Big picture view:

Political analyst Blois Olson said there is not enough support for an assault weapons ban in a closely divided legislature.

Instead, Olson says this push may be a part of a broader strategy looking ahead.

"There’s math in politics and the math on this one just doesn’t add up yet," Olson told FOX 9. "We’re 13 months away from a consequential governor’s race. All 201 members of the Legislature are up. We’re going to have an open U.S. Senate seat. This is going to be a topic regardless of whether they pass something or not. We’re going to be talking for 13 months."

What's next:

Ultimately, lawmakers await a decision from Gov. Walz on a special session that could last up to seven days once convened.

If one should be called, "House Republicans will show up. We will be there to work," said Rep. Demuth on Tuesday.

But with a 67-67 tie in the Minnesota House following the election of Xp Lee to fill the seat of former Rep. Melissa Hortman, anything passed by lawmakers will need to be bipartisan to ever reach Gov. Walz's desk.

"We do recognize in order to pass any meaningful gun violence prevention measures through the legislature, we will need votes from both Democrats and Republicans," said Rep. Stephenson.