Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz proposes start date for special session on guns
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and legislative Democrats on Tuesday released a proposal indicating that a special session focused on gun laws could take place as early as next week.
Under the offer shared with Republicans, the special session to convene on Monday and will focus on "specific action on guns." The governor did not officially call lawmakers back to St. Paul.
Among the policies Walz wants addressed during the special session is an assault weapons and high-capacity magazines ban and a binary trigger ban. The proposal also wants legislators to look at eliminating the "ghost gun loophole", expanding school safety and mental health treatment funding, and more.
Only the governor can call a special session, but leaders and the governor typically work with legislative leaders to set parameters on what it will look like before it happens. However, Walz could still call a special session without those parameters in place.
Walz's proposal says the special session would conclude on Oct. 12. Signatures absent from the proposal were those of Speaker of the House Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, and Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks.
Leaders have been meeting to find common ground over the last several weeks, but haven't found any agreement on the terms.
House Republicans say on Monday they sent Walz and legislative leaders proposed parameters for a special session, but claim the governor rejected them. House Republicans' offer, obtained by WCCO News, did not list specific policy proposals for a special session but instead said the focus should be on school safety, mental health funding and public safety.
"Evidently, the DFL idea of a fair offer is for Republicans to commit to supporting a final product that Democrats haven't even decided on yet," Harry Niska, R-Ramsey, said.
A spokesperson for Senate Republicans says they did not make an offer because they "remain committed to solving this through the full legislative process, not backroom deals."
Walz claims the proposal "meets the expectations that Minnesotans have for their elected leaders."
"We have made a good-faith offer to the Republicans that includes their policy priorities in an attempt to reach a bipartisan agreement, but the question remains: will they join us in this effort?" Rep. Zack Stephenson, DFL-Coon Rapids, said.
GOP lawmakers released their list of proposals for the special session earlier this month, which includes more funding for mental health support and grants for school security, among other measures. They have not pitched any gun-related bills and none have indicated that they would join Democrats to support them.
Walz has acknowledged that the split Legislature could make passing gun laws difficult. Though Minnesota passed enhanced background checks and red flag laws in 2023, more recent efforts have failed in the divided Legislature.
The governor announced he would call a special session after a shooter fired through the windows of Annunciation Catholic Church during a school Mass, killing two children and injuring 21 other people — most of them also kids — on Aug. 27.
The 2026 regular legislative session will begin in mid-February.
The video above originally aired on Sept. 14, 2025.