Moms Demand Action, Students Demand Action Condemn Complete Lack of Action from Minnesota State Lawmakers on Gun Safety Following Deadly Mass Shooting at Annunciation Catholic[...]

Calls for a Special Session for State Ban on Assault Weapons Come After Two Children Killed and 21 Other People Wounded on Third Day Back to School at Annunciation Catholic School

MINNEAPOLIS - A week and a half after the mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, the Minnesota chapter of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, part of Everytown for Gun Safety's grassroots network, issued the following statements on the appalling lack of action by Minnesota state lawmakers.

Despite claiming that he would call for a special session to ban assault weapons, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has not yet convened the legislature, and no legislative leaders have committed to a special session. Minnesota advocates, mayors, faith leaders, and Annunciation families - including those whose children were victimized by the mass shooting - have pleaded for action on assault weapons. Today, hundreds of students across the state, and thousands across the nation, are walking out of school to demand action now.

"We are a week and a half out from the Annunciation mass shooting. Families are learning how to move forward after burying their children. Survivors are still in hospital beds, carrying wounds that will last a lifetime," said Chad Kuyper, a leader with the Minnesota chapter of Moms Demand Action. Kuyper is also a professor at Normandale Community College. "And yet, even in their grief, their calls for action have only grown louder. Thousands have shown up at vigils and at the Capitol. Local leaders, hampered by preemption, are demanding the Legislature act. The Annunciation parents, as they mourn and pray for recovery, are pleading for change. And still, our lawmakers have done nothing. You've stood at press conferences, made announcements about announcements, but offered no commitments. Governor Walz: call a special session now. Caucus leaders: show Minnesotans where you stand. Will you answer the cries of your constituents, or continue to ignore grieving families?"

"It's been a week and a half since the mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic School. In that time, thousands across the state and across the nation have demanded action on assault weapons," said Timberlyn Mazeikis, a former Michigan State University student who survived the mass shooting on campus in 2023 and is now a volunteer leader with the Students Demand Action group at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. "Today, over a hundred students across Minnesota are walking out to demand action. Governor Walz, Senate Leader Erin Murphy, Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, and House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth: do you care? You've offered thoughts and prayers, but no action. Call a special session. Show us you value our lives over these weapons of war."

Stakeholders across the state have called for a special session to ban assault weapons. They include:

• Annunciation Victim Parents
• Minnesota Mayors
• Students across the state who walked out of school today
• Clergy
• Medical Professionals
• Coalition of Minnesota gun violence prevention organizations

Assault weapons and high-capacity magazines are especially lethal firearms that are frequently used in mass shootings, capable of firing more rounds, at higher speeds, and with far greater destructive force than standard handguns. These weapons were designed for the battlefield - not our schools, churches or city streets.

The mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic School was just one of two deadly shootings in Minneapolis in 24 hours which both involved assault-style rifles. At least eight out of the 10 mass shooting incidents with the most casualties since 2015 involved at least one firearm equipped with a high-capacity magazine and the use of at least one assault weapon. When the U.S. had a federal assault weapons ban on the books, it worked. State-level assault weapon bans are associated with a lower likelihood of an active shooter event. Not only are laws prohibiting assault weapons constitutional, these policies are effective - and they save lives.

Gun violence costs Minnesota $6.6 billion each year, of which $105.5 million is paid by taxpayers. Minnesota has decent gun safety laws, ranking #14 out of all 50 states. In an average year, 527 people die by guns in Minnesota, and 1,174 more are wounded. Firearms are the fourth leading cause of death among children and teens in Minnesota and an average of 39 children and teens die by guns every year. Read more about gun violence in Minnesota here and assault weapons here.