ST PAUL, Minn. — Attending an anti-gun violence rally on the capitol steps, Gov. Tim Walz said Wednesday he may call a special session to debate comprehensive gun legislation – but only if Senate Republicans will agree in advance to at least hold hearings and take a vote.
With hundreds of protesters demanding action in the wake of multiple mass shootings this past weekend, Walz again renewed his calls for universal background checks and a so-called “Red Flag” law that would keep guns out of the hands of people deemed a risk. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have passed similar laws, and an increasing number of Republicans – including President Trump – have signaled some support for them.
In Minnesota, however, they failed to come up for a hearing in the Republican-led Senate after the DFL-led House passed them this year.
On Wednesday, Walz suggested a special session that would tackle both gun legislation and insulin legislation at the same time.
“Do something now,” Walz said,. “Let’s have the vote on red flags, and with this pen we’ll sign it into law this week. We can do it this week and finish this.”
In conversations with Senate Republican Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, Walz said he was told the leader would leave it up to the public safety committee leadership to decide whether to hold hearings. Gazelka tweeted this week that an expansion on background checks would be ineffective and that “we will focus on mental health issues, and tougher penalties when thugs use guns.”
Senator Andrew Lang (R-Olivia) told KARE 11 over the phone that he’s willing to come back for a special session, but that red flag and universal background check measures are “not a magic fix.”
“Mental health has to be included,” Lang said. “We need to find solutions that work.”
At the capitol steps on Wednesday, protesters insisted they’ve already offered those solutions. In addition to red-flag measures and universal background checks, many of them also called for a ban on assault rifles during the 90-minute rally.
Congressman Dean Phillips (D-MN3) also urged for change at the federal level and blasted Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky for not taking up gun control measures the House passed.
“They’ve been sitting at the Senate for months now,” Phillips said. “One of my calls is to Mitch McConnell to at least give it a vote in the U.S. Senate. Anything else is a dereliction of duty. That is a beginning.”
McConnell has faced a slew of protests from across the country and from constituents, but in a statement after this weekend’s shootings, he said his party is ready to “work in a bipartisan, bicameral way to address the recent mass murders which have shaken our nation.”