Annunciation families push for tougher gun laws

Empty desks honoring Fletcher Merkel and Harper Moyski sat in the State Capitol yesterday, as Annunciation families advocated for tougher gun laws.

Zoom in: The solemn push came as Gov. Tim Walz threw his support behind a package of gun violence prevention proposals, including bans on assault rifles and magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition.

The DFL governor was joined by Lydia Kaiser, an Annunciation eighth grader who was shot in the head in the attack.

• "Elected officials have a duty to protect us from guns," she said. "No one should have to go through what we went through."

Friction point: While some pieces of Walz's package, such as more funding for mental health and school safety, are likely to attract bipartisan support, lawmakers in the narrowly divided Legislature remain split over new gun laws.

• Top legislative Republicans and gun rights groups say the proposed assault rifle ban is overly broad, too onerous for legal firearm owners and could violate both the 2nd and 4th Amendments.

Hours after Lydia spoke, the assault weapons and high-capacity magazines bans failed to advance out of a committee in the tied House on a party-line vote.

The fate in the DFL-majority Senate is also unclear, as some rural Democrats have opposed similar measures in the past.

• "There are certainly some... Democrats and Republicans who have some hesitation," Judiciary and Public Safety Chair Ron Latz (DFL-St. Louis Park) acknowledged. "So we've got our work cut out for us."

Watch Annunciation families sing in the Rotunda ... Go deeper on the debate via MPR...