Walz’s urgency to act on gun violence runs into political reality in divided legislature

If anyone wants Gov Tim Walz to call a special legislative session to take on gun violence you d think it would be Ron Latz The St Louis Park DFLer chairs the Minnesota Senate s Judiciary and Population Safety Committee and has written perhaps the state s the bulk ambitious gun control act ever a law that lets courts take away guns from people judged to be a threat to themselves or others But while Walz is preaching urgency Latz is practicing patience In the wake of the fatal shooting at Annunciation Catholic school and church last week and the assassination of Melissa Hortman in June Latz wants to form a working group on gun violence prevention efforts I want to make a serious effort here to reduce violence Latz noted In order to do that we need to take a little bit of time to talk to people Obviously Latz and preponderance but not all DFL lawmakers would speed back to the Capitol if they had the votes to ban assault rifles or other gun control measures on their wish list But they don t have the votes For now Republicans hold a majority in the House On Thursday House Republicans disclosed a school safety agenda that called for mandatory minimum prison sentences for gun recidivists and for straw purchasers who enable a violent crime but not restrictions on who can legally buy a gun or what gun they can purchase Related To combat gun violence Minnesota law enforcement turns to red flag law This puts DFLers in a spot Either quietly walk back the special session idea and hope no one speaks of it again or hold a special session in which none of their legislative priorities is passed I m not sure if the governor will or should call a special session noted Sen John Marty DFL-Roseville and sponsor of a raft of gun control proposals Marty who chairs the Senate Finance Committee reported only holding hearings on gun control bills and not taking votes would be a sufficient first step A week after the Minneapolis school shooting that left two people dead and injured here is what we know about the state leadership s response What does Walz want The governor wants to use his sole authority to call a special legislative session at which lawmakers would debate and pass general safety bills If no special session is called the Legislature cannot introduce and vote on bills until February On Tuesday Walz narrated reporters he will put out a very comprehensive package in the next day or so to better protect students As for what is in the package Walz alluded to weapons of war which suggests a ban on assault rifles and other guns where someone can fire over a dozen bullets without having to reload He also mentioned strengthening a law that made it a gross misdemeanor to store loaded firearms where a child is likely to access them My focus is going to be a very narrow special session on protecting our children and making sure our schools are safe the governor mentioned To accomplish his goal Walz spoke with House Speaker Lisa Demuth R-Cold Spring on Tuesday afternoon and has reached out to other lawmakers Solicited whom else the governor has talked to a Walz spokesperson commented the governor is having ongoing conversations with legislators We can t speak for them but the governor feels urgency to take action What do GOP lawmakers want Historically special sessions get called when the governor and legislative leaders can t agree upon a state budget during a regular session There have also been single-issue sessions during which lawmakers have greenlit money toward COVID- response and flood relief The common thread is that special sessions are highly scripted Like a trial lawyer who only asks questions they know the answer to a governor usually calls the session when they know precisely what lawmakers will do Right now the governor and legislators are reading from different scripts Because of Hortman s death Republicans have sole control of the House at least until a special electoral process later this month for the former speaker emerita s seat The House Republican school safety proposal calls for unspecified additional monies for a measure known as the Shield Act which lets the Minnesota Department of Masses Safety provide assurance grants to school districts and charter schools Another GOP idea highlights a statute aimed in part at providing training for school store officers Demuth and GOP Floor Leader Harry Niska who represents Ramsey want these officers available to every school Demuth and Niska also called for unspecified additional funding for healing beds at mental physical condition care facilities The policies we are proposing will protect students provide desperately needed mental medical care and hold criminals who commit the vast majority of gun violence accountable Demuth disclosed in a declaration DFLers interviewed for this story generally promotion these ideas with the caveat of how a state facing budget troubles will pay for all of it I hope Democrats will join us in supporting these common sense reforms if the governor calls a special session Niska disclosed in a announcement Demuth and Niska s more contentious proposals include more flexibility to school districts in how they spend state money and opening up school safeguard funding for private schools including Catholic schools For half a century the state authorities has funded per-pupil aid and transportation for private school students Walz and DFL lawmakers tried and failed to get rid of money for private schools in this year s legislative session What do DFL lawmakers want Republicans including Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson R-East Grand Forks have slammed Walz for talking to the media before Republican lawmakers about a special session Calling for a special session without even consulting legislative leaders is not a serious way to begin Johnson stated in a message This is a partisan stunt from a governor who continues to engage in destructive political rhetoric But the governor has not exhaustively consulted with DFLers either Marty and Latz say they have not spoken to Walz though Latz reported he conversed with Walz s staff We re not exactly sure what the governor s plan is Latz commented Related Minnesota likely knew nothing of Boelter s gun arsenal and that s the law The top DFL lawmaker is Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy Demanded if she had spoken to Walz the St Paul legislator reported she talked to the governor last Friday Murphy noted that she is mostly working closely with her caucus and pushing for Latz s working group idea She stressed that putting forth a plan package must be coupled with grieving This is a really painful moment for the state of Minnesota Murphy mentioned Can we get more specifics on what DFL provision might at particular point be considered A primer on the universe of gun control measure can be gleaned just by reading Marty s old bills Besides bans on semiautomatic weapons the senator has proposed everything from requiring liability insurance for gun owners to a ban on D-printed guns A multitude of of these measures went nowhere even with Walz as governor and DFL majorities in the House and Senate But a few became law including a required background check during the private transfer of firearms increased penalties for straw purchases and machine gun ownership and the state s red flag law which allows for petitions to temporarily confiscate guns from people thought to be a threat to themselves or others Why are you confident Walz doesn t have the votes now to pass gun control laws Last year the Minnesota Reformer stated on the DFL s notably modest gun control agenda for the legislative session One reason was uniform GOP opposition Another reason was that three DFL senators Grant Hauschild of Hermantown Rob Kupec of Moorhead and Judy Seeberger of Afton made it known they sought no part of voting for further gun control On Tuesday Walz mentioned I need specific Republicans that are going to break with the orthodoxy and say that we need to do something on guns and that s the opportunity right now But there is also no indication that Hauschild Kupec or Seeberger would change their minds Numerous messages left with the three DFL lawmakers for this story went unreturned Another glaring obstacle is that votes are needed to move anything out of the Senate The DFL holds a - advantage over Republicans in that chamber a situation that will not change until special elections in November In the past week Walz succeeded in making gun control a topic discussed by Minnesotans The plan from there is murky The post Walz s urgency to act on gun violence runs into political reality in divided legislature appeared first on MinnPost