Minnesota Senate Finance Committee Advances Critical Gun Violence Prevention Omnibus Package

Last Month, Under the Leadership of Speaker Demuth, Minnesota House Republicans Blocked a Motion to Advance Legislation to Prohibit Assault Weapons and High-Capacity Magazines

ST. PAUL, MN - Today, the Minnesota Senate Finance Committee advanced a comprehensive gun violence prevention omnibus package (SF 4067), marking a critical step forward in efforts to strengthen public safety and reduce gun violence across the state.

The legislation includes key provisions to address some of the most urgent threats facing Minnesota communities, including a ban on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines, investments in school safety and Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) implementation, and measures to crack down on ghost guns and binary triggers.

"This is the kind of comprehensive action Minnesotans are demanding: cracking down on ghost guns, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, investing in school safety, and strengthening tools like extreme risk orders to stop violence before it happens," said Leah Kondes, Minneapolis lead of Moms Demand Action. "The Senate Finance Committee has done its job-now the full Senate must bring this to the floor and pass it without delay. And the House must follow suit. Every day without these protections in place is another day our communities are left at risk."

"This is not theoretical for students: we've lived through the consequences of inaction," said Timberlyn Mazeikis, a former Michigan State University student who survived the mass shooting on campus in 2023 and now, leads the Students Demand Action group at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. "We're demanding lawmakers ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, crack down on ghost guns, and invest in real prevention. The Senate must pass this without delay, and House Republicans need to stop blocking lifesaving policies and start answering to the students and communities they were elected to protect."

If enacted, the package would:

• Prohibit assault weapons and large-capacity magazines
• Invest in school safety and violence prevention efforts
• Facilitate the use of ERPOs to prevent tragedies before they occur
• Ban ghost guns and regulate self-manufactured firearms
• Reinstate the ban on binary triggers

In the wake of the deadly shooting at Annunciation Catholic School, where a gunman armed with an assault weapon killed two children, Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor leaders have worked throughout this legislative session to advance legislation to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Unfortunately, under the leadership of Speaker Demuth, House Republicans have blocked all attempts to advance this life-saving policy. Now, significant movement through the State Senate once again places the burden on House Republicans to listen to their constituents and act. Weapons of war do not belong in Minnesota communities. Assault weapons and high-capacity magazines are designed to fire large numbers of high-powered rounds in seconds, maximizing harm and devastation. When the U.S. had a federal assault weapons ban on the books, it worked. Researchers estimate that if the federal law prohibiting assault weapons and high-capacity magazines was in effect from 2005 through 2019, it would have prevented 30 mass shootings that resulted in 1,478 people shot and killed or wounded. State-level assault weapon bans are associated with a lower likelihood of an active shooter event.