By Shay Scanlan

Report for Minnesota

The Minnesota Senate passed a sweeping gun violence prevention package on May 4 that includes a ban on assault-style weapons, though the measure faces steep Republican opposition in the House. 

The package also bans what are called binary triggers, devices that double the rate of fire on some firearms. Additionally, the bill makes it a felony to sell ghost guns, untraceable guns without serial numbers. The package includes more than $20 million in funding for violence prevention programs, mental health support and school safety aid. 

The vote comes after two high-profile Minnesota shootings. 

Last August in Minneapolis, a former student from Annunciation Catholic Church and School fired more than 100 rounds from an AR-15-style rifle into the church, where students were attending Mass. Two students, 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moyski, were killed and more than 20 others were wounded. 

Two months earlier, former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were shot and killed in their home, and Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were seriously injured in their home by the same accused attacker. 

The bill passed on a party-line 34-33 vote, with all Senate Democrats supporting it. All Senate Republicans opposed the new gun restrictions. The bill is unlikely to pass in the House, where Democrats and Republicans hold an equal number of seats.

House and Senate Republicans have argued throughout the session that restrictions on guns will not prevent violence and would infringe on Second Amendment rights. They are emphasizing school safety measures instead, along with funding for mental health programs. 

Under the Senate bill, people who currently own assault weapons and large capacity magazines would have to register them with the state’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension every three years. 

A separate provision, co-written by Minnesota students and backed by school principals statewide, would remove a principal’s authority to grant permission to carry firearms on campus and tighten storage requirements for guns left in vehicles on school property or at school events.

Sen. Andrew Mathews, R-Princeton, called for Democrats to strip the gun bans and focus on mental health and school safety funding.

“This is what has the best chance of passing this year,” Mathews said.

The vote marked the first time a bill banning assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines has cleared either chamber in the Minnesota Legislature. Previous attempts failed amid opposition from Republicans and some Democrats representing rural districts.

Sen. Grant Hauschild, DFL-Hermantown, who helped block a previous assault-weapons ban in 2023, said he has since reconsidered his position.

“Regret, guilt, shame, remorse,” Hauschild said during the Senate floor debate Monday, sharing his range of emotions since the Annunciation shooting, when his two young cousins were caught in the gunfire. 

Annunciation families and gun safety advocates filled the Senate gallery during the debate. Earlier in the session, families testified and helped arrange 60 desks on the Capitol lawn to represent Minnesota children killed by gun violence since 2021. 

Bill author Sen. Zaynab Mohamed, DFL-Minneapolis, urged lawmakers to act.

“Because honoring the lives we’ve lost means doing something different,” she said.