A newly-formed working group of Minnesota senators from both sides of the aisle met this week to discuss a renewed call among some to enact new gun violence prevention measures.
That discussion came following the shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church and School in Minneapolis last month, and ahead of a potential special session Gov. Tim Walz and legislative leaders are considering.
Depending on who you talk to, such a special session could focus on gun control, a boost for mental health resources, school safety enhancements — or some combination of all three.
On both Monday and Wednesday, about two dozen politicians, lobbyists, religious and school leaders, healthcare professionals and members of the public were selected to testify before the bipartisan group of 11 senators — six Democrats and five Republicans — and expressed a wide range of opinions on how to keep schools across Minnesota safe.
Painful memories from ROCORI High School shooting
Included among that testimony was a handful of parents of Annunciation students who were harmed or who saw classmates harmed or killed during the Aug. 27 attack.
During emotional testimony on Monday, three of those Annunciation parents pleaded with legislators to consider an “assault rifle” ban, among other gun control measures Democrats introduced but couldn’t pass when they held a trifecta.
One lawmaker at the hearing who could relate to the emotional toll those Annunciation parents are going through is Sen. Jeff Howe.
The third-term lawmaker from Rockville listened intently, and then took a moment during the hearing to share the experience one of his own children, now an adult, lived through during a school shooting that took place about 22 years ago at ROCORI High School.
“My son was in the hallway when that school shooting happened,” Howe recalled during the hearing. “My son’s teacher that day was a substitute teacher who didn’t really have the knowledge to do the lockdown drill. My son is the one that locked down that school classroom.”
Sen. Howe: My son was in the hallway at ROCORI when that shooting happened. We need to take school safety seriously. Not only public schools, but also private schools. We need to protect them all; they are all our kids. pic.twitter.com/kzE15zvbf8
— Minnesota Senate Republicans (@mnsrc) September 15, 2025
Howe said he was an active-duty member of the Minnesota National Guard at the time, and remembers the moment he heard the news there was a shooting at ROCORI. He called his son’s cellphone and didn’t get an answer on the other end of the line.
“Not knowing whether that was one of those individuals shot was your child or not was nerve wracking,” Howe recounted.
Howe offered a tempered response to some of the calls from testifiers for new gun control measures. He said he recently toured an area school district that has undertaken significant security enhancements to its buildings and campuses.
“Something we need to take very seriously is school safety and protecting our children,” Howe said. “Not only in public schools, but also in private schools. We need to protect them all. They’re all our kids.”
Democrats say they’ll introduce at least a half dozen new gun restriction bills
One of the legislators in the working group, Sen. Zaynab Mohamed, DFL-Minneapolis, explained she’ll introduce an “assault rifle” ban during a special session or when the legislature meets for its regular session in February.
Other bills Senate Democrats say they’ll offer include:
- the creation of a state Office of Gun Violence Prevention;
- a requirement that any person who purchases a gun must first receive firearm safety training;
- a new law that would allow city’s to ban “assault rifles”;
- a so-called “safe storage” requirement that all firearms must be stored and locked away in residences;
- a binary trigger ban.
Following nearly four hours of discussion on Wednesday, Republicans criticized the bills offered by Democrats as constitutionally problematic.
“The governor calling now for a special session for something he couldn’t do when he held all the power (in 2023 and 2024) is something that is not a solution,” said Sen. Eric Lucero, R-St. Michael, a member of the working group.
WATCH: Sen. Eric Lucero calls out Gov. Tim Walz's "disingenuous" proposal to ban "assault weapons," points out lack of support in Walz's own party.
"Democrats had a trifecta … Gov. Walz was occupying the governor's office. They weren't able to get it passed." pic.twitter.com/Vfwr8ElzrE
— Alpha News (@AlphaNewsMN) September 17, 2025
Lucero highlighted the legislative package that House GOP leaders announced earlier this month, which focused on enhancing security on school campuses and expanding mental health treatment resources across the state.
Democrats currently control the state Senate by a one seat majority, 33-32, over Republicans. The House is tied at 67-67 between the DFL and GOP.
Sen. Ron Latz, DFL-St. Louis Park, who has been one of the more consistent gun control advocates among elected officials at the Capitol, is co-chairing the working group.
Latz said after the hearing he has used an “assault rifle” at a shooting range before and admitted “it was fun.”
“But if I had to give up shooting an assault rifle to save kids’ lives, I know I would choose life, no matter how much fun it was,” Latz added. “And I don’t think you need an assault rifle for self-defense.”
Hank Long
Hank Long is a journalism and communications professional whose writing career includes coverage of the Minnesota legislature, city and county governments and the commercial real estate industry. Hank received his undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota, where he studied journalism, and his law degree at the University of St. Thomas. The Minnesota native lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and four children. His dream is to be around when the Vikings win the Super Bowl.
