BURSTMinnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) said he plans to call a special session of the state Legislature to consider tougher gun laws after a shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic school last week left two children dead and nearly two dozen people injured.
Walz told reporters on Tuesday he plans to propose a “very comprehensive” package that could include an assault-weapons ban. He said he plans to make calls to lawmakers and work on a plan over the next few days.
The Democratic governor acknowledged he will likely need to get some buy-in from Republican lawmakers, since the Minnesota Legislature is so closely divided.
“To be very candid, just in a very evenly divided [Legislature], I’m going to need some Republicans to break with the orthodoxy and say that we need to do something on guns,” Walz said Tuesday.
Walz said his gun proposals would not infringe on Second Amendment rights but would protect students from gun violence. He said he’s open to Republican ideas.
He floated several other possibilities that could be included in his legislative proposal, including more mental health funding, improvements to the state’s 2023 “red flag” law and new requirements on safe storage and liability insurance.
“If Minnesota lets this moment slide, and we determine that it’s OK for little ones to not be safe in a school environment or a church environment, then shame on us,” Walz said.
The suspect in the school shooting last week was identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, who once attended the same Catholic school in suburban Minneapolis. Westman died by suicide after firing 116 rifle rounds through the church’s stained-glass windows, after barricading the church’s doors, police said.
The suspect was carrying a rifle, pistol and shotgun during the attack, according to officials, all three of which were purchased legally.
The Associated Press contributed