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Gov. Tim Walz and legislative DFLers on Tuesday publicly outlined a possible special session agenda that they're struggling to gain traction with among Republicans. GOP leaders responded that they won’t stand for “slogans and press conferences.” 

The public breakdown comes after weeks of private negotiations over how to respond to a mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church and School in late August that killed two children and left many more injured, some seriously.

The DFL proposal would call for an early-October session to consider a slate of gun restrictions. It also calls for harsher penalties for firearm offenses and boosts funding for school security and investigating threats of violence. DFLers and allies in the push for tougher gun laws have grown restless. But without a deal, the session could turn from potentially productive to a pure spectacle in a flash.

“This proposal meets the expectations that Minnesotans have for their elected leaders – that we respond to threats to public safety and take direct action on guns,” Walz said. “We will not let this issue simply go away. Our offer addresses mental health, school safety, support for law enforcement, and most importantly, common sense gun laws.”

Joint special session offer

The latest meeting occurred earlier Tuesday, but in remote fashion as Walz attends official events in Ireland. Walz is the only one who can call a special session. Historically, the governor and lawmakers aim to be in alignment about what they will vote on when they return to St. Paul. 

In the wake of the mass shooting at Annunciation, legislative leaders and the governor have said they want to take action to prevent future instances of gun violence. While Republicans and Democrats have agreed to consider additional funding for mental health treatment and school security measures, they’ve split over additional restrictions on assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines.

On Monday, Everytown for Gun Safety pressed for action on an assault-weapons ban and suggested Walz had failed by not calling a special session more than a month after the shooting.

At a news conference following the closed meeting, Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul, said they published the offer letter to break through a logjam in negotiations.

“What we did was recognize in the room together that we're at an impasse,” Murphy said, “and we were clear that we were going to share our offer with the public because I think it's important for the public to know and it's important for us to act with integrity.”

Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, said Democrats left the meeting with legislative leaders and Walz after about 10 minutes.

“Minnesotans deserve better than slogans and press conferences, they need solutions,” Johnson said. “Democrats and Governor Walz are avoiding the regular committee process that invites public scrutiny and stakeholder input. Only through the full legislative process can Minnesotans truly have a voice and a seat at the table, ensuring their will and not backroom deals, shapes our public policy.”

House Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, echoed Johnson and urged DFL leaders to vet proposals that could come up in a special session in public. House GOP Leader Harry Niska, R-Ramsey, said the recent developments weren’t encouraging.

"It's become clear, I think, to everyone what should have been obvious from the start — that the governor's talk of a special session has been a partisan political stunt from the beginning,” Niska said. “It's not the right way to govern in Minnesota, and really it's just a political posturing by the governor, which is a really unfortunate way to handle a tragedy that we should be able to come together and find some solutions.”

Demuth said it’s encouraging that leaders continue meeting to discuss next steps for a possible special session. She also pointed out that any proposal brought forward would need bipartisan support to pass, given the current makeup of the Legislature. The Republican House leaders said their caucus wouldn’t put up votes for bills that added restrictions on firearms. And they pointed out that some Senate Democrats were still hesitant to back those bills.

Murphy said she was still counting votes within her caucus but no one had said they were a “hell no” vote on the proposals.

House DFL Leader Zack Stephenson, of Coon Rapids, said his caucus was committed to getting the measures passed, whether in special session or down the road. He said it’s a personal issue for them. Their former leader, Rep. Melissa Hortman, and her husband, Mark, were killed in an act of gun violence in June.

“We're not going to give up on this. We'll keep talking about it throughout the rest of the interim, if that's what it takes, throughout a regular session in the campaign and into 2027,” Stephenson said. “We're in it for the long haul.”

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More than a month after a shooting killed two children and injured more at a Minneapolis Catholic church, state lawmakers are struggling to come to consensus on an agenda to head off gun violence and to shore up school safety.

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Minnesota leaders take spat public as they tussle over special session on gun violence prevention

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