Minnesota legislative session ends with no House vote on gun reform bill

The 2026 Minnesota Legislative Session ended Sunday night as House lawmakers opted not to bring a gun reform bill that was backed by families tied to Annunciation Catholic School to the chamber floor for a vote. 

The legislation, which passed in the state Senate, was also supported by healthcare professionals. It would have banned semiautomatic rifles and high-capacity magazines. 

Last summer, two students were killed and more than 20 others were injured during a shooting at a back-to-school mass. 

DFL lawmakers staged a dayslong sit-in protest inside the House chambers in an effort to demand a vote on the bill. 

Supporters have accused Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth of holding it up, though she argued that it did not properly pass through the committee process. 

Lisa Demuth's daughter Shelisa Demuth was 15 years old when she survived the 2003 Ricori High School shooting in Cold Spring. Shelisa Demuth has in recent days publicly criticized her mother, writing on Threads, "Imagine being the first House Speaker in state history who is also the mother of two school shooting victims and conveniently deferring a gun control bill to the next legislative session."

The Annunciation shooting renewed calls for gun reform at the Capitol; Gov. Tim Walz pledged a special session to address gun violence but talks stalled after Republicans revealed their agenda, which included bolstering private school security funding, repealing and amending laws on gender-affirming care and supporting mental health units at hospitals.

Eventually Walz and legislative leaders at the politically divided capitol were unable break through their stalemate, and Walz said calling lawmakers back to St. Paul would be a "waste of time."