Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signs executive orders aimed at reducing gun violence
Gov. Tim Walz signed two executive orders on Tuesday he said are aimed at reducing gun violence in Minnesota.
The orders will expand outreach and education around extreme risk protection orders and safe gun storage, create a Statewide Safety Council and require insurance companies to provide data on the cost of gun violence, Walz said.
"And we are going to use that data to do the research the federal government is too cowardly to do, to understand that this is a public health crisis that could be attacked like any other public health crisis if we simply had the courage," Walz said.
The move comes nearly four months after a shooter killed two children and injured more than two dozen others at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis. Walz, other elected officials, some of the victims' families and many community members called for state lawmakers to take concrete actions to address gun violence in the wake of the mass shooting.
In the weeks following the tragedy, the governor repeatedly said he intended to call a special session on guns. Those plans fell apart when negotiations between Democrats and Republicans stalled. Walz and the DFL hoped to hold a vote on bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, among other proposals. Republicans said they wanted to focus on school safety, public safety and mental health, though they did not mention guns nor put forth any specific proposals.
Walz admitted he would still like to get a ban on assault weapons through the legislature but blamed Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth for blocking a vote.
"There is one person stopping us from having a vote in the House of Representatives right now to ban assault weapons, which in recent polling showed 70% of Minnesotans support," Walz said. "78% in the suburbs strongly support. Only 18% of people are strongly opposed to doing this. So the Speaker of the House should not be standing with the 18%."
Demuth, who is also running for governor next year fired back, saying "Shame on the Governor for politicizing tragedy, and shame on him for ignoring bipartisan safety solutions in favor of mockery and lies."
DFL Rep. Emma Greenman said Tuesday the orders are "only a first step, but it is an important one."
"The executive action today is about choosing the safety of our kids over the guns that endanger them," Greenman said.
Greenman and other DFL lawmakers present at the signing said reducing gun violence will require legislative action, and pleaded for compromise from their Republican colleagues — a call echoed by Kristen Neville, whose five children were inside Annunciation during the August shooting.
"Protecting Minnesotans from gun violence is not about blame, it's about responsibility," Neville said. "Addressing gun violence is not a partisan issue, but a human one."
Senate Republican Leader Mark Johnson said the governor's orders "are not actual solutions to keeping kids safe in school."
"Addressing mental health, intervening before a crisis turns violent, and active safety protocols are real solutions that Republicans support to keep our kids safe," Johnson said.
The Annunciation shooting was the state's second high-profile act of gun violence last summer. About two months earlier, authorities allege Vance Boelter shot two lawmakers and their spouses inside their Twin Cities homes. State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark died in the shootings, while state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette survived. Boelter was indicted on six counts of murder, stalking and firearms violations, to which he pleaded not guilty.
"The public has been saying it. They've been saying it since June 14, they've been saying it since that horrific day at Annunciation, they continue to say it: Enough is enough," Walz said.
One part of the executive actions on the Red Flag laws is to provide an age appropriate education component aimed at children, students and families so they know how to report a concern when they hear it.
The state's largest gun rights group also weighed in, saying: "What we got today were low-impact orders that serve more as political cover than meaningful policy."
Minnesota Department of Commerce Commissioner Grace Arnold said a report on the data from insurance companies will be available to the public by October.
According to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety's Uniform Crime Report, nearly 75% of the state's 170 homicides in 2024 involved a firearm.
As of March 3, there were 408,356 valid firearms permits in Minnesota, according to the department.