Metro mayors seek local gun control powers as Walz plans special session

St Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and leaders of other metro-area cities are calling for the Minnesota Legislature to allow them to create local gun control laws if state lawmakers can t reach an agreement on new policies Gov Tim Walz has stated he plans to call a special session to address gun program after the shooting last week at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis that killed two young children and injured others Walz and Democratic-Farmer-Labor lawmakers want new restrictions on firearms but they ll have to get Republican assistance to pass bills like a ban on certain semiautomatic rifles and limiting the threshold of magazines And that appears unlikely Gov Tim Walz Jose F Moreno The Philadelphia Inquirer TNS Recognizing that political reality Carter Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and leaders of seven other cities gathered Tuesday at the Minnesota Capitol to ask state leaders to repeal a state law preventing local governments from enacting their own gun control We have an urgency and we are completely asking our legislature to do what every -year-old in that school knew to do last week Take action commented Carter noting along with other mayors that he would prefer a federal or state ban to local action If you re not able to do it or willing to do it there give us the ability to keep our constituents safe Frey disclosed That is our call That is our ask Chances at Legislature Leaders from Bloomington Stillwater Vadnais Heights Minnetonka Hopkins and Richfield joined Carter and Frey on Tuesday in pushing for the repeal of the decades-old preemption law It s unclear if they ll have any success as House and Senate Republicans have shown scarce signs of interest in changing gun laws The House is at the moment split - with Republicans at a one-seat advantage That likely will return to a - tie after a Sept special polling to succeed the late DFL leader Rep Melissa Hortman who with her husband was fatally shot at their Brooklyn Park home in June No matter the outcome of that electoral process House DFLers will still need GOP votes to pass any bills On the Senate side DFLers have seats to Republicans seats Two special elections this November could change the balance of power or preserve the DFL s one-seat majority But right now they still need votes to pass any bills If all DFL senators voted for an assault weapons ban or any other gun control decree they d need one Republican to join them Surrounded by fellow metro mayors Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Fry speaks to the media during a press conference at the State Capitol Building in St Paul on Tuesday Sept John Autey Pioneer Press Complicating matters Further complicating matters for the Senate DFL is that at least one northern rural senator could be a holdout on gun bills Rural district holdouts limited gun control rule when the DFL had full control of state executive in and Sen Grant Hauschild who represents northeast Minnesota s Arrowhead region has voted for measures like extreme liability protection orders and universal background checks But he opposed a requirement to lock up guns and another bill that would require the reporting of stolen or lost guns in a timely manner Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth R-Cold Spring explained last week s news of Walz considering a special session had initially come as a surprise House Speaker Lisa Demuth Courtesy photo In a Monday comment the speaker revealed she had a conversation with Walz about his goals and noted that any proposals that come through the Legislature will need bipartisan promotion If Governor Walz and Democrats are focused on partisan accusations and demands this special session will not be productive for the people of Minnesota Demuth reported Particular Republicans have already signaled opposition to lifting the state preemption House Safety Committee Lead Paul Novotny R-Elk River declared the law prevents a confusing local patchwork of local rules that would turn law-abiding citizens into criminals completely for overcoming a city or county line The Second Amendment does not change depending on your zip code and every law-abiding Minnesotan deserves the same right to protect themselves and their family no matter what city or county they are at this moment in he commented in a declaration Constitutional freedoms shall not be infringed by a county or city establishment and I trust the courts would agree Local laws City leaders didn t get into specifics on how local bans might take shape though they shared a general idea of what they requested Mayors called for an overall ban on the sale and possession of assault style weapons which would include the AR- a semiautomatic rifle with features like pistol grips and detachable magazines Frey mentioned magazine quota would be limited to bullets Minneapolis and St Paul don t have any stores that sell guns so local bans in those cities would mainly affect people who already own semiautomatic rifles and larger magazines Required if there would be anything that could stop someone from buying a gun in one municipality and bringing it to another Minnetonka Mayor Brad Wiersum whose city has a gun retailer announced doing nothing at all to regulate weapons would be a bigger cause for concern If you take away opportunities to get guns there will be fewer guns used he announced Does it solve the concern It does not But does it reduce the matter Does it mitigate the matter Yes it does Newest setbacks for gun control advocates A renewed push for gun restrictions comes amid latest setbacks for gun control advocates in Minnesota The Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus a prominent state gun rights group has successfully challenged multiple Minnesota gun laws In August a Ramsey County judge struck down a state law banning binary triggers a modification that allows a semiautomatic weapon to fire both when the trigger is pulled and distributed greatly increasing its rate of fire Judge Leonardo Castro disclosed it couldn t stand because DFL lawmakers inserted the ban into a -page bill in the final hours of the legislative session violating the Minnesota Constitution s Single Subject and Title Clause In another August ruling the Minnesota Supreme Court commented a decades-old law banning certain guns without serial numbers didn t apply to homemade ghost guns as long as federal law doesn t require a serial number And earlier this year Minnesota s minimum age to obtain a permit to carry a firearm dropped from to after the U S Supreme Court declined to take up the state s appeal in a development challenging the minimum age Related Articles MN Capitol rally calls on lawmakers to ban assault rifles Gov Tim Walz plans special session on guns after Catholic school shooting Molly Coleman is seated on the St Paul City Council Hemmingsen-Jaeger wins DFL primary for Nicole Mitchell seat in Woodbury Stillwater lands MN Governor s Fishing Opener