Walz mulls special session on gun control following Minneapolis mass shooting, source says

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is considering calling the state Legislature into a special session to vote on an assault weapons ban and other gun control measures following a mass shooting in Minneapolis that killed two and wounded 18 others, a person close to the governor told the Reformer on Friday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about Walz’s deliberations.

Walz’s office is expected to make an announcement related to the special session as soon as next week, the person said.

“It’s time to take serious action at the State Capitol to address gun violence,” Walz said in a social media post Friday afternoon. The governor offered no further details.

A shooter opened fire at Annunciation Church in south Minneapolis on Wednesday, killing 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moyski and injuring 18 others, all children and senior citizens.

Federal, state and city Democratic lawmakers joined gun safety advocates Thursday to call for a ban on assault weapons and high capacity magazines.

New gun legislation would face an uphill climb in the closely divided Legislature.

Republicans — led by Speaker Lisa Demuth and who are strongly aligned with the gun rights movement —  have 67 members in the House, while Democrats count 66 in their ranks following the June assassination of Democratic-Farmer-Labor caucus leader Melissa Hortman. Walz and DFL lawmakers are hoping the shooting of a church filled with schoolchildren would pressure Republicans to accede to new laws. A special election to replace Hortman in safely blue District 34B is Sept. 16.

Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, dismissed the idea of a special election: “Republicans are committed to addressing the root causes of violence, supporting safe schools, and increasing access to mental health resources. Calling for a special session without even consulting legislative leaders is not a serious way to begin,” he said in a statement. “This is a partisan stunt from a governor who continues to engage in destructive political rhetoric.”

Absent new laws, Republicans would be forced to vote on the issue a little more than a year from a crucial midterm election when all 201 legislative seats will be on the ballot.

Democrats had control of the Legislature for two years and failed to pass a statewide ban on assault weapons. Democratic House Floor Leader Jamie Long of Minneapolis said he had the bill drafted but didn’t introduce it because he didn’t think they were ready.

“We’re ready now,” Long said Thursday. “It shouldn’t have taken tragedy coming to Minnesota to be ready.”

Democrats did pass a slate of gun control laws when they held power in 2023 and 2024. They instituted an extreme risk protection order, or “red flag,” law that allows family members or police to ask judges to take guns from people deemed a danger to themselves or others.

They also passed universal background check requirements on private gun sales as well as increased penalties for possession of converted machine guns and “straw purchases” when people buy guns for someone not legally allowed to possess them.

One gun safety measure — a ban on binary triggers which increase the rate of fire of semiautomatic weapons  — was recently struck down by a judge because it passed in a monster, 1,400-page bill that violated the state Constitution’s requirement that laws are confined to a single subject.

Although a special legislative session would force Republicans to take potentially difficult votes on gun regulation, it would also give them an opportunity to propose legislation of their own. They could bring bills related to the latest wave of Medicaid fraud allegations, which were so significant in a housing stabilization program that Walz recently shuttered the entire program.

Given the apparent transgender identity of the shooter, Republicans could also be expected to bring forth anti-trans legislation. U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer, 6th District Republican and House majority whip, told the New York Post this week that lawmakers should overturn a 2023 law that made Minnesota a trans refuge state.

Complicating matters, the state Senate is currently short two members until a Nov. 4 special election. Until then, the Senate is 33-32, with Democrats in control, but they can’t pass any bills without 34 votes.

Although only the governor can call the Legislature into special session, lawmakers have the power to adjourn.