Minnesota lawmakers at impasse on ways to reduce gun violence
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A gun violence prevention group of Minnesota senators from both sides of the aisle are struggling to reach an agreement on the best way to tackle gun violence.
State Sen. Rich Draheim (R-Madison Lake) attributed the impasse to different ways of life. “Guns is kind of a culture … [families] might go out pheasant hunting together,” he said. “There’s just a little different lifestyle between the Minneapolis, metro-representatives versus the outstate representatives.”
The Gun Violence Prevention Working group, comprised of six DFL senators and five Republican senators, including Draheim, was started as a way to reach a bipartisan solution to reduce gun deaths in the state after a mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis on Aug. 27. The shooting killed two young children and injured 21 others.
On Monday, senators listened to testimony, including from parents with children caught in the shooting.
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While the group can’t take any formal action outside of a legislative session, it serves as a way to gather support and workshop proposals for a formal legislative process.
Sen. Ron Latz (D-St. Louis Park), who co-chairs the group said on Tuesday’s Morning Edition that the issue of gun violence prevention “requires complex solutions.”
Discussion got heated on the first proposal brought forward on Wednesday’s hearing when DFL senators asked their Republican counterparts if they would work on a “safe storage” bill that Sen. Heather Gustafson (D-Vadnais Heights) had introduced in past sessions. The bill would establish standards for the safe storage of firearms in Minnesota and impose criminal penalties for gun owners who fail to meet them.
Republicans opposed the proposal with Draheim’s reasoning being that some of the language was “unconstitutional.” None of the five Republicans provided suggestions or amendments to the language.
MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke with Latz on Tuesday after the working group’s first meeting. She spoke with Draheim on Thursday, after its second meeting. Find both full conversations above.
