Minnesota legislators at odds over gun control proposals

ST. PAUL, Minn. (KVRR) — Gun violence has been a big topic for many in the DFL since the shooting at Annunciation Church in Minneapolis, and the shooting that took the lives of Rep. Melissa Hortman and Mark Hortman.

“When you are allowing somebody to possess a deadly weapon, I think that some kind of common sense regulation around possessing that seems to make sense to me,” said Sen. Rob Kupec.

Gov. Tim Walz proposed a ban on assault rifles, high-capacity magazines, binary triggers, firearms without serial numbers, and other rulings. This comes months after the Governor had initially pushed for a special session focused on gun violence, but the session never took place.

“I think that will have to be flushed out and talked over. But I think there is a desire among the majority of Minnesotans for some common sense gun regulation above what we have right now,” said Kupec.

While many Democrats are pushing for bills in the legislative session calling for bans and certain rulings on the use of weapons, Sen. Jordan Rasmusson says the focus needs to be placed elsewhere.

“Instead of going after the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding gun owners, we should be looking at proposals that will protect Minnesotans. Legislative Republicans support expanding safety aid to non-public schools. We also want to make sure that for violent criminals, who break our gun laws, that there are serious consequences and they go to prison,” said Sen. Jordan Rasmusson.

Rasmusson said Republicans remain focused on the fraud within human services. As he said, many have shared their concerns over this issue.

Many of the legislative bills have just been introduced and will continue to be worked on during the legislative session.