Common-Sense Legislation to Prevent More Gun Deaths

District Perspectives, Senate District 65 

Minnesota will not forget the tragedy at Annunciation School on August 27, when a shooter opened fire on children, teachers and clergy as they prayed in church before class. Two children died and 21 people were injured that day — a horror no community should witness. 

Three weeks later, I listened as parents of Annunciation students shared heartbreaking testimony of what happened to their children before a Senate working group convened to discuss the epidemic of gun violence in our country. As parents, doctors and faith leaders spoke, I felt more strongly than ever before that weapons of war have no place in Minnesota. 

I wholly support a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines like the one used to fire 116 bullets into Annunciation Church in two minutes. I applaud my colleague Senator Zaynab Mohamed for proposing legislation to do just that. What’s more, I believe that cities and towns should be able to ban any firearms in libraries, city halls, community centers and other city-owned or leased land.  

The Minnesota Legislature passed a law in 1985 that prevents cities from doing this. That was my very first year as a legislator — and I voted against it. Supporters for this kind of law argue that it prevents a patchwork of regulations from city to city, town to town. But as I see it, the law is uneven. Businesses, schools and courthouses can ban firearms; but recreation centers, libraries and city halls cannot. 

Forty years have passed, and we are fighting the same battle. In 2023, after a shooting at the Jimmy Lee Recreation Center in St. Paul, I proposed the same legislation that I presented at the September Gun Violence Prevention Working Group: Repeal the 1985 law and give cities the authority to ban deadly weapons in the places where children play, elders gather and city officials discuss local ordinances with residents.  

The DFL-led Legislature has already passed successful, evidence-based gun violence prevention laws since 2023:  

• We established Extreme Risk Protection Orders, which allow judges to temporarily remove firearms from individuals after a petition (filed by a family member or law enforcement) that proves they are a risk to others or themselves. 
• We expanded background checks requiring a background check for private party transfers of pistols and semiautomatic military style assault weapons. 
• We increased penalties for owning, possessing or operating a machine gun, trigger activator or machine gun conversion kit. 
• We created a sales tax exemption for gun safes, making safe storage more accessible; and 
• I passed a law that funds the Violence Prevention Project Research Center at Hamline University, which provides critical research on how to stop violence before it begins. 

I believe my legislation to return this power to cities is a step toward a world without gun violence. We must let local governments do what they think is best for their community and safest for their residents; we must repeal the 1985 law that prevents cities from doing so.