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Gun safety special session coming soon, but assault weapons ban still unlikely

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Published  September 11, 2025 6:26pm CDT
Politics
FOX 9
Calls for new gun safety laws in Minnesota

Calls for new gun safety laws in Minnesota

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is expected to call a special session on gun reform following the Annunciation mass shooting. FOX 9's Corin Hoggard has the full report.

The Brief

    • A Minnesota special session on gun safety is expected to be announced soon.
    • Gov. Tim Walz started talking about it after the Annunciation mass shooting, and the call to action has support from several of the victims' parents.
    • Political analysts say it's unlikely Democrats can pass the assault weapons ban they'd like. Republicans oppose it, but say they want to beef up school security and mental health treatment--items DFLers say they're interested in pursuing as well.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - In the near future, Gov. Tim Walz is expected to announce a special session to address gun violence.

Prompted by pain

The call gets louder:

It was initially in response to the Annunciation Church and School mass shooting two weeks ago.

But since then, the country has seen the Charlie Kirk assassination and a Colorado school shooting, so the calls for new gun safety laws are getting louder.

They came from Minnesota pediatricians and the Minneapolis City Council today.

But the parties at the Capitol still seem pretty firmly entrenched on opposing poles.

Gun violence prevention is alone on the agenda for state legislators next week.

"Our goal on Monday is to take testimony, get input, get ideas," said Sen. Ron Latz, (DFL-St. Louis Park), who is co-chair of the new gun violence prevention working group.

It's designed to cook up ideas for laws that could avoid a repeat of June 14 — when a gunman assassinated Melissa and Mark Hortman and shot Senator John Hoffman’s family as well — and August 27, when a shooter killed two children and injured 21 other people at Annunciation church and school.

"If the Annunciation Massacre doesn't convince people that assault weapons don't belong on our streets, I'm not sure what will," said Sen. Latz.

In the words of several Annunciation parents and the victims’ doctors, political action on gun safety is a must. 

Unlikely outcome

Parties can't compromise:

But political analyst David Schultz says the working group and a potential special session are likely doomed before they start because the parties can’t even agree on what the problem is.

"One party yells 'gun control', the other yells 'Second Amendment'," said the Hamline University political scientist. "And they're basically doing what? Everything they can to get their bases hot and bothered, and not find a common solution."

Schultz says the parties are more polarized now than in 1994, when Congress approved a ten-year assault weapons ban with votes across the aisle. 

Aisle blockage

Polarization problem?:

Bipartisan agreements on major new gun control didn’t come in 2012, when 20 kids and six adults were killed at Sandy Hook, and Schultz says they’re nearly impossible now.

"Since then we've had school shootings, we've had nightclub shootings, we've what we've have here," he said. "Violence isn't driving us to the peace table. Violence seems to be driving us further apart, if anything."

Republicans told FOX 9 they want to focus on beefing up school security and mental health treatment.

Sen. Latz says he’s willing to work on those things, too, but there’s evidence an assault weapons ban can reduce mass shootings and deaths.

PoliticsMinnesotaAnnunciation Church and School shooting