We reported recently how Minnesota governor and failed vice presidential candidate Tim Walz was calling a special session of the state legislature to try to get new gun control laws passed and also how he was surprised that Republican wouldn’t just sit back and let the new proposals be passed.
Walz brought up the special session following the August 27 shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church, where a trans man fired into the windows of the church during the school’s first Mass of the year. Democrats had said that during the special session, they would be seeking not only the ban on so-called “assault weapons,” but also the re-enactment of the state’s binary trigger ban, which was recently struck down by a district court, a requirement for serial numbers on guns, safe storage requirements, gun safety training and the creation of a civil commitment division in the Attorney General’s Office.
Now, according to a report at cbsnews.com, Walz seems about ready to throw in the towel, since Republicans are still refusing to comply to his demands of piling more restrictive laws on law-abiding gun owners while ignoring violent criminals in the process. As the news site reported, Walz on September 8 told reporters that with no breakthrough or compromise in sight, calling legislators back to the capitol might not be worth it.
“I need to get an agreement on this,” Walz told reporters. “If we’re going to hold a special session on the safety of our children, the safety of our streets, and gun violence, we need to talk about guns. And if the folks who hold veto power over this—which they do because of the makeup of the Legislature—if they say that’s not going to happen, calling a special session is going to be a waste of money and a waste of time.”
It seems that Walz is talking sense for the first time in a long time. It’s ignorant for Walz to think that just because he believes more gun laws will somehow curb violent crime, others might not have the same opinion on the matter.
Walz also told reporters that it might already be too late for the special session because of the timing of next year’s legislative session.
“This is not going away,” Walz said. “The question then becomes, does it make sense, if you get further into that, do you bring this up in February. I hope we get a resolution before then. I think we owe it to the people of Minnesota to have a resolution before then. But it’s a valid point.”
Republicans have repeatedly refused to consider further gun control in the aftermath of the church attack. One of the voices of reason has been Rob Doar, senior vice president of the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, who said he’d like to see the special session focus on “things that will actually make a difference.”
“Even if all of these bills became law, that are being proposed today, there’s no indication that that would have prevented this shooting,” Doar said.
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