ONE YEAR AFTER MASS SHOOTING AT THE ANNUNCIATION SCHOOL IN MINNEAPOLIS, EVERYTOWN, MOMS DEMAND ACTION, STUDENTS DEMAND ACTION REMEMBER THE LIVES STOLEN AND RENEW CALLS FOR[...]

In the Year Since the Shooting, Minnesotans Have Grown a Powerful Movement for Gun Safety and Made Historic Progress at the State Capitol

Despite Historic Organizing and Senate Action, Minnesota Lawmakers Have Yet to Pass a Life-Saving Assault Weapons Ban, Which Could Have Prevented The Mass Tragedy From Happening in the First Place

MINNEAPOLIS - Tomorrow marks one year since the mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic School, where a shooter armed with an assault weapon opened fire during morning mass, killing eight-year-old Fletcher Merkel and ten-year-old Harper Moyski, and wounding 27 others. Ahead of the one-year mark, Everytown for Gun Safety and its grassroots networks, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, released the following statements, joining Minnesotans in remembering the lives stolen and forever changed, and renewing calls on legislators to pass an assault weapons ban, which could have prevented the tragedy from happening in the first place.

"Fletcher and Harper should be here today. Their classmates should be thinking about the school year ahead, not carrying the trauma of a shooting that no child should ever experience," said Angela Ferrell-Zabala, executive director of Moms Demand Action. "In the year since, Minnesotans have met unimaginable grief with extraordinary action. Students walked out, families and survivors packed the Capitol, and the Annunciation Light Alliance turned grief into powerful advocacy for change. We will keep fighting alongside this community until every child can go to school free from the fear of gun violence."

"As Minnesota parents send their kids back to school, many are haunted by what happened a year ago at Annunciation - and yet Republican lawmakers have blocked the most direct step to prevent a repeat of that terrible day, which is banning assault weapons, said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. "It's long past time for Minnesota legislators to listen to their constituents and do their part to get weapons of war off the street."

In the year since the shooting, students, parents, survivors, educators, medical practitioners, faith leaders and advocates across Minnesota have turned their grief into action. Students organized walkouts and repeatedly returned to the Capitol to demand action. More than a thousand faith leaders joined calls for stronger gun laws, while hundreds of educators urged lawmakers to protect students from gun violence. Survivors, parents, medical professionals and community leaders testified before lawmakers and organized throughout the legislative session. Their advocacy helped advance a series of gun safety measures aimed at preventing gun violence and keeping guns out of the hands of people who pose a danger to themselves or others, and brought Minnesota closer than ever before to banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Ultimately, lawmakers were unable to pass an assault weapons ban due to Republican Speaker Lisa Demuth refusing to call a vote in the gridlocked House. Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action volunteers have vowed to continue fighting for its passage.

"For the last year, Minnesotans have carried Fletcher, Harper and the entire Annunciation community with us every time we walked into the Capitol," said Chad Kuyper, lead with the Minnesota chapter of Moms Demand Action. "We turned our grief into action, and because thousands of Minnesotans refused to give up, we made real progress and came closer than ever to banning assault weapons in our state. But the reality is our lawmakers were not able to get it over the finish line. One year later we're still in the position where the policy that could have prevented this tragedy is still not in place. We will keep showing up until every parent can send their child to school knowing their leaders have done everything possible to keep them safe."

"We are supposed to be students, not experts in lockdowns, active shooter drills or how to survive gunfire at school," said Timberlyn Mazeikis, a leader with Students Demand Action in Minnesota. "After Annunciation, students across Minnesota decided we were done waiting for adults to catch up to the reality we live every day. We walked out, rallied, and testified. We came back again and again, and we made our voices impossible to ignore. One year later, we are still here, and we are not going anywhere until we can walk into school without wondering whether we'll make it home."

The movement that emerged in the wake of the mass school shooting at Annunciation, and the horrific political assassination of former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, and attempted assasination of State Senator John Hoffman and his wife, has reached every corner of the state.

One year after Annunciation, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action volunteers remain committed to honoring the lives taken and forever changed by the shooting through action. They will continue organizing across Minnesota to build on the progress of the past year and push lawmakers to pass lifesaving gun safety laws, including a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.