Gun control special session stuck on runway, here’s why
MN gun control special session: Goals, start time unclear
After the Annunciation School and Church shooting, a special session on gun control has yet to be scheduled. FOX 9's Corin Hoggard has the latest.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - A special session on gun control has been on the runway for almost a month now, but it’s still not cleared for takeoff.
Special delay
No common ground:
Gov. Tim Walz met with legislative leaders Thursday, and he could call a special session at any point.
But he doesn’t control what happens once it starts, so the bipartisan leadership meetings are designed to find some common ground before a special session, and they’re just not there right now.
Looking for agreement on new gun safety laws got House DFL Leader Zack Stephenson riled up Thursday.
"We're at a point where we need to find out if Republicans are willing to do anything on guns," said Stephenson, (DFL-Coon Rapids).
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.
What DFL wants
Assault weapons ban:
DFL leaders and Gov. Walz are pushing for a ban on new sales of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
It’s a push they’ve made more forcefully since a shooter killed Harper Moyski and Fletcher Markel at Annunciation Church last month.
The governor says it’s a request he’s hearing from several of the school’s parents, and one he believes could pass even a very divided legislature.
"What I do believe is there is a majority in the House and in the Senate who do want to see that voted on and who do believe it could pass," the governor said Thursday. "And I think the folks who are the advocates and the parents, it's something that they're specifically asking for."
But he says Republicans are telling him there will never be a vote on these gun control bills.
Republican response
Don't have the votes:
Speaker of the House Lisa Demuth denies giving that warning.
She says so far, the governor and Democrats are offering only vague bans on not fully-written bills, while Republicans are focused on securing schools and boosting mental health treatment.
"We are working very diligently in how we represent our communities and, so there's not really a characterization and, as I said in the very beginning it's good that the four leaders and the governor that we're still talking," said Speaker Demuth, (R-Cold Spring.)
Demuth also says DFL leaders acknowledge there aren’t enough votes to pass a gun ban, with a split House and a few DFL senators — Sen. Rob Kupec, Sen. Grant Hauschild, and Sen. Judy Seeberger — often joining Republicans in opposing some new gun control measures.
Stephenson says they’d like the chance to vote and find out.
"For my caucus, gun violence isn't a theoretical issue," he said. "It's personal. You know, my predecessor was murdered in an act of gun violence three months ago. We are absolutely united in our desire to do something really meaningful on gun violence."
What's next:
They may not be seeing eye-to-eye on the biggest issue, but they’re not at an impasse.
The group of leaders is scheduled to meet again Friday.