Minnesota Legislature needs to act now on gun violence

The mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis was an unspeakable tragedy Any legislative action we take now is too late to save the lives of those schoolchildren But it is not too late to prevent this from happening again Gov Tim Walz s proposed special session faces opposition from Republicans who oppose meaningful gun violence prevention Even selected DFLers oppose the special session Specific would rather not vote on the record while others believe the party should never bring up bills until we have a consensus that is almost certain to pass But that strategy distorts the political process We should not wait for a consensus before introducing a bill holding hearings and voting Democracy functions best when legislators with different perspectives present regulation hold hearings and debate the ideas then vote them up or down Minnesotans deserve transparency on this issue When the DFL controlled both houses we passed key reforms universal background checks for gun purchases and a red flag law to prevent people in problem from accessing guns Those are major victories but I was disappointed that the Legislature didn t consider other proposals Related Walz s urgency to act on gun violence runs into political reality in divided Legislature My bill to ban assault weapons and large threshold magazines never received a hearing It would have reduced the carnage at Annunciation if it had passed Despite widespread general interest in gun safety regulation the Legislature has never taken a comprehensive look at gun violence prevention We fail Minnesotans by not addressing the big picture That s why I introduced the only comprehensive gun regulation proposal yet In addition to banning assault weapons and large ceiling magazines it would also ban undetectable guns prohibit multiple gun purchases require safe storage and make it easier for businesses and local governments to ban guns in community places At its core that regulation would set up a responsible regulatory system for guns similar to automobile regulation Like cars guns have useful purposes but they are dangerous Automobiles require people to receive training and testing to be licensed to have their vehicles registered and to have liability insurance Cars must meet safety standards Credit Graphic provided by Sen John Marty But we have no such regulatory regimen for firearms Through state and federal rules and regulations related to cars the death toll per mile driven has dropped over in the last century Gun regulations have had similar positive impacts States with particular gun laws have a gun violence death rate less than half that of the states without We can adopt reasonable gun regulations without infringing on the constitutional right to keep and bear arms These proposals are comprehensive but narrowly tailored to achieve the compelling state interest in stopping the murder of schoolchildren and others They place minimal burdens on individuals who wish to own and possess guns Why a comprehensive approach Gun violence is the number one cause of death for both children and adolescents Minnesotans deserve bold action to save lives We need more than a piecemeal approach to this epidemic I would welcome the opportunity to present these bills in front of a committee to have proponents and opponents speak to the ideas in them then have the committee and the full Legislature vote for or against each provision Opposition from Republicans and specific DFLers could conclusion in failure to pass an assault weapons ban and the provisions in the bigger bill But that is not a reason to avoid debating the issues and voting on them Failure to do so is a betrayal of responsibility Minnesotans deserve honesty and accountability I have not spoken to Gov Walz about whether he will call a special session and this is not about second-guessing him Sen Ron Latz the Senate Judiciary Chair who authored the background check and red flag laws is working with Sen Zaynab Mohamed who represents the population where the shooting occurred Sen Mohamed has also been a strong gun violence prevention advocate and is interested in authoring the ban on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines As an immediate first step they have proposed a working group to consider proposals for legislative action I commend that But a working group is not the end of the process We need more than thoughts and prayers more than just discussion We need real debate with up-or-down votes A special session to pass an assault weapons ban is appropriate given the urgency If no special session is convened the Senate should still consider specific measure and prepare for formal votes when the Legislature reconvenes in Whether or not we are flourishing in passing this society safety law the debate must be residents transparent and honest so that Minnesotans know where their elected agents stand Nothing the governor and Legislature do on gun violence now is sufficient It s too late to save the lives of the children at Annunciation But now is the time for real legislative action on responsible gun safety John Marty DFL-Roseville is chair of the Minnesota Senate Finance Committee and author of an assault weapons ban as well as comprehensive gun safety provision The post Minnesota Legislature demands to act now on gun violence appeared first on MinnPost