Ahead of One-Month Mark of Annunciation School Shooting, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action Call for Special Session to Ban Assault Weapons

In One Month Since Annunciation Church School Shooting, Governor Walz Has Failed to Call Special Session

ST. PAUL, Minn. - On the eve of the one-month mark of the Annunciation School shooting, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action volunteers are calling on Governor Tim Walz to immediately convene a special session to pass an assault weapons ban.

"We don't need more thoughts and prayers. We need a special session, and we need it now," said Timberlyn Mazeikis, a former Michigan State University student who survived the mass shooting on campus in 2023 and now serves as a volunteer leader with the Students Demand Action group at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. "If leaders continue to turn a blind eye while children are shot in schools, then they are abandoning their responsibility to protect us."

"Our state has endured the trauma of yet another mass shooting carried out with weapons of war, and Minnesotans are demanding change," said Carla Gillespie, a volunteer with the Minnesota chapter of Moms Demand Action. "Minnesota communities have made their call for action clear: we need an assault weapons ban. The Governor has an obligation to act quickly and call a special session to get this done, our kids' lives depend on it."

The Annunciation shooting claimed the lives of two children and left survivors, families, and communities reeling. In the month since, faith leaders, medical professionals, students, and advocates across Minnesota have joined together to demand action.

Assault weapons and high-capacity magazines are weapons of war designed for maximum lethality on the battlefield and do not belong in our classrooms, churches, or communities. From 2015 to 2022, mass shootings with four or more people killed where an assault weapon was used resulted in nearly six times as many people shot, more than twice as many people killed, and 23 times as many people wounded per incident, on average. Additionally, at least eight of the ten deadliest mass shootings involved an assault weapon.

When the federal assault weapons ban was in place, it worked. State-level assault weapon bans are associated with a lower likelihood of an active shooter event. Ten states and Washington, DC, have enacted legislation to prohibit assault weapons.

In an average year, 527 Minnesotans are killed by guns and 1,174 more are wounded, including 39 children and teens.