Parent's of Annunciation shooting victim say GOP gubernatorial candidate lied to them

The parents of 10-year-old Harper Moyski, who was killed in the mass shooting at Annunciation Church, say that the Republican candidate for governor lied to them. 

Jackie Flavin and Mike Moyski said that Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth promised them a vote on gun control legislation when she met with them in their home in the wake of the shooting, which left two children dead— including their daughter Harper— and 21 injured. 

"Not only did she lie to us and not do anything to make Minnesota safer, she just doesn't seem to have an answer or have anything to say," Flavin said. 

The couple said that they had hope when, with just a few weeks left to go in the year's legislative session, the Minnesota State Senate narrowly passed a sweeping bill which would have banned semiautomatic weapons and high capacity magazines.  

Their peers in the Minnesota State House never voted on the same package before legislators broke for the year; members of the DFL and the Moyski family blame Demuth. 

"I think she lied to us in our living room," Moyski said, "intentionally? I don't know." 

Flavin and Moyski made the renewed comments standing alongside Sen. Amy Klobuchar, the democrat running against Demuth. 

"When Minnesotans wanted action, Lisa Demuth ensured nothing would happen," Klobuchar said in a press conference with the Moyskis on Thursday.  

Sen. Klobuchar brought up the issue during their final televised debate on Wednesday. There, Demuth countered, once again arguing that the house did evaluate gun control issues. 

"When I had the honor of meeting with the families that were highly impacted by the tragedy at annunciation, I gave them my word. I would not lie to them. But I said bills will be introduced, they will go through the process and they will be voted on. That happened eight times. I was true to my word," Demuth said. 

A campaign spokesperson clarified that there were seven votes, pointing WCCO to various gun control measures that house members evaluated between March and May during the legislative session. This included instances where the house was determining whether to bring these measures to a full vote; the campaign is also counting votes related to rules and procedures that would have to be approved in order to take legislative votes. In a house split evenly between the DFL and the GOP, these measures didn't make it out of committee or otherwise didn't move forward.

"The heartbreaking loss of life at Annunciation is a horrendous tragedy in our state's history. Speaker Demuth's own children were on the campus of Rocori High School when a shooter killed two classmates in 2003. She has fought for and will continue to fight for greater security upgrades and mental health resources for all kids," Demuth's campaign spokesperson said in a statement, "There were seven votes during the legislative session on these issues, and Speaker Demuth supported elements of the Annunciation parents' agenda, including mobile crisis grants and required anonymous threat reporting systems in all schools. Speaker Demuth has supported security funding for all kids in all schools, including in private schools, which Democrats over and over again have blocked."

Flavin called Demuth's response "bull****."

On May 14, House lawmakers opted not to bring the gun reform bill passed by the Senate to the chamber floor for a vote.

This is where the Moyskis argue Demuth failed them, believing the package that the Senate agreed on could have won support in the house. Demuth argued at the time that it did not properly pass through the committee process.

"It is my opponent who stopped it in it's tracks. She wouldn't even let it come up for a vote," Klobuchar said. 

Klobuchar said that she would sign the bill passed by the Senate as is, but would also be open to tweaks. 

Demuth has been firm in her legislative record voting against gun control measures, continuing to point to the importance of mental health measures.