Who Doesn’t Want to Ban Semi-Automatic Weapons? A Deep Dive on Legislative Efforts

Lexi Anderson of Students Demand Action talks May 29 at the State Capitol about why she is involved with the gun violence issue (photo by Sarah Whiting)

SF4067 is a firearm regulation bill that passed through the Minnesota Senate in the 2026 legislative session but stalled in the House of Representatives. As Minnesota Women’s Press reported, 7,000 signatures collected in a week in support of action were delivered to House Speaker Lisa Demuth — by many advocates, including families impacted by the Annunciation school shooting in August — to call a vote on a House bill. But the legislative session closed without any vote; no legislation will be considered again until the 2027 session.

Spearheaded in the Senate by Zaynab Mohamed (DFL–Minneapolis), SF4067 was drafted partly in response to the Annunciation shooting after two children, Harper Moyski and Fletcher Merkel, were killed in the attack. The shooter also was able to wound 28 people largely because of the use of an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle — which fired 116 rounds in a short period of time. The rifle, originally designed for the military, can fire rapidly and be equipped with high-capacity magazines for maximum danger in seconds.

The Annunciation shooting came soon after state legislators Melissa Hortman and John Hoffman and their spouses were shot in their homes in June 2025. Mohamed’s bill passed 34-33, on party lines, in the Senate. The bill package included a ban on the future sale of semi-automatic weapons and high-capacity magazines, felony penalties for selling ghost guns, reinstatement of the binary trigger ban, expanded secure storage laws, and more than $20 million for school safety and mental health resources.

The Political Division

In October 2025, after weeks of negotiations at a special session about gun violence solutions, Republicans rejected a DFL proposal that included a slate of GOP priorities, including funding for mental health services and school security, but also would have required passage of a ban on assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines. According to a Star Tribune article at the time, House GOP Floor Leader Harry Niska (Ramsey) told reporters that no members of his caucus are willing to vote for such a ban.

Minnesota Women’s Press last fall reported on the views of five women in politics about the prospect for movement in gun violence protection measures. 

• Senator Erin Maye Quade (D–Apple Valley) said: “There are Republicans in the Minnesota legislature that support some of the gun violence prevention measures we’re talking about — like limiting access to certain guns — but they don’t want to [vote against] the Republican caucus stance. This is running moderates out of the Republican Party. … I would be willing to lose my seat to save a kid’s life.”
• Senator Heather Gustafson (D–Vadnais Heights) said one of her 2025 bills was about safe storage of guns. “Common sense, right? But we couldn’t get it across the finish line. I had a Republican coauthor who had to pull her name off of the bill, who ended up voting against it, because she got so many death threats from her own party.”
• Former Senator Patricia Torres Ray predicted that measures would not pass in 2026. “Not with the numbers that we have in the Minnesota House and the Senate. Members of the Republican caucus are not acting to represent the voices of their districts anymore. They are just voting with their caucus. It’s going to take a tremendous amount of work to flip a couple votes in the Republican House and Senate.”

Gustafson said Republican legislators in particular need to hear from constituents about losing votes for not supporting common-sense gun measures. “You’ve got to show up in those [purple] cities like mine and Chaska. Those are the places we need you to door-knock and get the message out.”

Mohamed also noted the need for public messaging particularly in Stillwater, Anoka, Blaine, and Maple Grove.

In December 2025, a probability survey by Lumaris of more than 1,000 Minnesotans found that 79 percent of people in Twin Cities suburbs, as well as 61 percent of rural residents, supported an assault-style weapons ban; 71 percent of people in Saint Paul and Minneapolis were in support. Overall, 69 percent of those surveyed were in favor of a semi-automatic weapons ban.

Why Vote No?

Mohamed opened a Senate committee meeting about SF4067 with the logic behind her proposal, saying, “This is a complex problem without a single solution. The students and parents we have heard from do not want us to choose between banning weapons of war and investing in school safety. This isn’t either-or; we need both.” 

She noted that combatting violence with the threat of more violence [such as arming people at schools] has not worked to reduce school shootings. 

In the Senate financial committee meeting, Sen. Rich Draheim (R-22, Faribault area) raised concerns that the bill would raise the state sales tax and said he would vote no on the bill. He cited “hundreds, if not a thousand emails urging [him] to oppose this bill.” He stated that the bill needed more time to be written and developed. 

In response, Senate fiscal analyst Chris Turner indicated most of the bill’s public safety funding comes from grants specifically given to prevent gun violence, not from a raised sales tax. 

In 2023, a GOP House member who spoke out against gun measures was Brian Johnson, then representing Cambridge (near Hinckley), who said something that has been repeated since by other GOP members as a reason to not restrict the purchase of semi-automatic weapons: “This is restricting a constitutional right. A God-given right for us to keep and bear arms.” 

[Johnson lost in the GOP primary to James Gordon, who was elected. Gordon’s gun-related bills sponsored in 2026 included creating a lifetime permit for carrying guns (HF17), eligibility to apply for a gun permit at age 18 (HF416), and providing for the right to carry without a permit (HF636).]

In 2026, Archbishop Bernard Hebda of Saint Paul spoke to the Gun Violence Prevention Senate Working Group. Among other suggestions, such as supporting more mental health resources, he said: “Both the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Minnesota Catholic Conference have supported common-sense gun laws as well as limitations on possession of assault rifles and high-capacity magazines. The solution to the challenge in front of us, however, goes deeper than guns.” He talked about the need for all community members to protect children and to address “despair and hatred that fuel these shootings.”

A House floor session was held on May 14 to discuss HF5140, a measure similar to SF4067, which would regulate ownership, possession, and sale of semi-automatic assault weapons and large-capacity magazines. Some of the GOP comments in opposition:

• Rep. Bidal Duran (R-Bemidji) asked for evidence that an assault weapons ban has lowered gun violence in other states. He decried the emotional appeal related to school shootings. “Nobody likes what happened. Me being a responsible gun owner, I worry about this too […] But to make law-abiding gun owners felons because that’s something you guys are uncomfortable with is just wrong.” 
• Rep Ben Davis (R-Merrifield) said: “I know exactly what this bill is about. Big government, again, will decide for you what you can have and what you can’t.”
• Rep. Mike Wiener (R-Long Prairie): “What we’ve seen throughout history, when government tries to dictate … I’ll give some examples. Maybe you’ve heard of the Armenian Genocide. Armenian civilians and soldiers were disarmed and executed by the hundreds of thousands. The Khmer Rouge – the communist regime regime of Pol Pot – disarmed the population after taking power in Cambodia in ‘75. Many of them were slaughtered after the government took away their guns.”

Albertville’s GOP state representative Walter Hudson gave a long fiery speech in opposition to gun violence prevention measures, claiming that Democrats believe in a “war ideology. … Virtually every mass shooter in recent years has been motivated by leftist ideology. … A lot of discomfort in the room right now. I’d be uncomfortable too if I was associated with open murderous intent, quartered by the likes of AOC, Gavin Newsom. … That’s Minnesota Democrats 100 percent. This is the stupidest urgency you possibly could have raised and you’re going to regret it.”

A House colleague raised concerns that Hudson’s bombastic public speech was perhaps impacted by alcohol, in reference to being pulled over in March by police in a car driven by an inebriated colleague while taking a break from a House committee hearing. Hudson replied that even someone with a few drinks in them could “take you down. You’re so out of sync with reality that it doesn’t require any talent to destroy. You’re against gun violence; give me a break. Virtually every gun … shooting that’s taken place in recent years has been a leftist. … So few people are willing to confront you on the BS. So few people are willing to openly tell you how full of it you are.” [Visit this YouTube video, starting at 1:38, for some of the speech.]

Rep. Kelly Moller (DFL–Shoreview) spoke next, reminding Hudson that “we can look over and see the seat of Melissa Hortman who was killed by a gun in an act of political violence [with others on a target list]. … I heard the member say that we’re just wasting time. This isn’t a waste of time to the victims who have died, to the families of the victims.”

The Need for Data

HF181 suggested in 2023 would have collected information about bias-motivated incidents based on the victim’s race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or other identities. At the time DFL Rep. Kaohly Vang Her — now the mayor of Saint Paul — said it was difficult to address hate crimes because there was no data collection about it.

In opposition to data collection, Rep. Patti Anderson (R–Dellwood) said: “You asked what’s the cost of collecting this data? The cost of collecting this data is the cost of liberty. It’s the cost of freedom.”

In April 2026, Anderson, along with Representatives Andrew Myers (R–Tonka Bay), Danny Nadeau (R–Rogers), Ben Bakeberg (R–Jordan), and Jeff Witte (R–Lakeville), called for the Safer Communities Together Initiative — a suicide and gun violence prevention plan that would include an anonymous reporting system for students, educators, and community members (HF3764), expanded behavioral threat assessment teams (HF4423), and comprehensive school safety plans involving mental health reporting (HF3602), as well as an Office of Violence Prevention that would consolidate data alongside evidence-based prevention efforts.

• Bakeberg said: “The warning signs are often there. The challenge is making sure we have systems in place to act before it’s too late.”
• Nadeau said: “Improving reporting, strengthening coordination, and intervening early when someone is in crisis are practical steps that save lives.”
• Anderson said: “Meaningful solutions require building coalitions across political spectrums to support legislation that can move forward, even in divisive times.”

The previous month, HF3668 was sponsored by Rep. Robert Bierman (DFL–Apple Valley), along with 34 other DFL representatives. It would have created an office of gun violence prevention, including research on causes, development of public health campaigns, and advising legislators on policy. The Department of Health has cause of death data on tobacco use, motor vehicle crashes, and substance use disorder — but not on gun deaths, Bierman said.

Since 2020, Bierman pointed out, guns have remained the leading cause of death for children and adolescence in the United States. He said. “If this was any other leading cause of death we would respond with urgency. We would study it, we would fund it, we would coordinate a serious, sustained response.”

The bill was discussed in the House Health Finance and Policy Committee. It did not, however, move forward for a floor vote.

Opposing the bill in written testimony was Bryan Strawser, chair of the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, who wrote: “While presented as a public health initiative, the bill would establish a permanent, taxpayer-funded office with broad authority to shape firearm policy, influence legislation, coordinate with outside organizations, and promote regulatory strategies under the banner of research and data collection. Minnesota does not need another layer of government bureaucracy focused on reframing and restricting a constitutional right. … The Constitution does not prevent Minnesota from punishing violent criminals. It does prevent the state from targeting peaceful citizens for exercising a fundamental right.”

California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Wisconsin have state-level agencies focused on violence prevention.

Why Not Talk About It?

At a media conference Friday, May 29, representatives of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, pointed out indirectly that if the role of legislators is to put children’s safety first, above political systems, they should not be afraid to discuss solutions in public. 

Doug Padgitt from Vote Common Good, which focuses on connecting with people of faith, said his organization as well as Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action have asked for a special session about gun safety. “If they want to make a different argument, they can stand in front of their constituents — which many of them will not do. They will not sit in town halls, they will not answer questions. Or they can stand before the media and make their argument about why the status quo is what they’re committed to.”

Padgitt said many politicians are not representing their voters, but the gun industry and the Trump Administration. He added that Republicans have said they know what their constituents want — but the Annunciation shooting might have changed some opinions. “When the federal government said Alex Pretti did not have a right to carry a weapon, so the federal agents had the right to shoot him in the back on the ground, the gun lobby stayed silent. That may have changed a few minds. This Republican movement in Minnesota doesn’t listen, and it doesn’t ask. So, it’s hard to take seriously their belief that they’re simply representing their constituency.

“Speaker Demuth did not bring this issue to a vote. If she was so confident that she had the votes within her caucus to bring down this legislative package that the Senate passed. Why not just take the vote?”

Chad Kuyper, who is part of the Minnesota chapter of Moms Demand Action, said he personally saw Republican legislators walk away from voters when they wanted to talk about gun violence. “They don’t want to go on record because they know their position is unpopular. They know it does not reflect the will of Minnesota.”

Lexi Anderson holds the eviction notice she delivered to certain House representatives on Friday, May 29, about their inaction on gun violence prevention measures (photo by Sarah Whiting)

Lexi Anderson, a student at the Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists, got involved with Students Demand Action after the Annunciation shooting. “I watched another community shattered by gun violence and realized our generation cannot afford to stay silent while lawmakers continue to do nothing. Many of my fellow students organized, walked out of our classrooms, and came to this Capitol. We testified, we shared our stories, and we begged our lawyers to listen. And still, Minnesota House Republicans blocked action. They blocked the assault weapons ban. They blocked action on 3D-printed ghost guns. They even blocked efforts to strengthen awareness around Extreme Risk Protection Orders. Advocates, survivors, students, faith leaders, teachers, medical professionals, and families have shown up here to demand action, and for months, House leadership chose politics over public safety. So today we are here to make one thing clear: we will not forget.”

Anderson said eviction notices were symbolically being distributed to certain legislators “because these seats do not belong to the politicians who refuse to represent the people. They belong to Minnesotans. They belong to the communities demanding safety. They belong to young people who are tired of growing up under the threat of violence. … We are going to make sure Minnesota moves forward with the urgency that this crisis demands.”

Eviction notices were delivered to GOP House members: Patti Anderson (District 33A), Elliott Engen (District 36A), Wayne Johnson (District 41A), Danny Nadeau (District 34A), Paul Novotny (District 30B), Aaron Repinski (District 26A), Kristin Robbins (District 37A), Terry Stier (District 22B), Jeff Witte  (District 57B)

A Unique School Shooting Survivor Speaks Up

Anderson added that “it is just straight-up offensive that Speaker Demuth would use her daughter’s stories in her campaign, about surviving a school shooting, and then refuse to bring Senate bill 4067 to a vote. I honestly have no words. As somebody who grew up in a neighborhood that was disproportionately affected by violence and witnessed it every day, it’s shocking to me that somebody can use the story of their children surviving school shooting in their campaign and then refuse [to act].”

Notably, after the gun violence measure was blocked from coming to a vote in the House, Shelisa Demuth — adult daughter of the Speaker of the House — wrote an opinion piece in the Star Tribune. She criticized her mother for ending her last legislative session without taking tangible steps to reduce gun violence in Minnesota. “When leaders memorialize victims but decline to deliberate on prevention, they are telling us who they are. When elected officials allow a vote structured to fail rather than permit a genuine floor debate on the most urgent safety issue their constituents have faced in a generation, they are telling us what they value.” 

All GOP Senators voted against the bill in the Senate. One perspective is that Demuth did not want her GOP colleagues in the House to jeopardize their standing with voters who were in favor of the bill — not bringing it to a House vote means that very few Republicans had to speak about the bill or place a public vote. Another perspective voiced by some is that Demuth suspected the House Republicans would be divided and the bill would pass, angering gun lobbyists. 

Lisa Demuth is running as a Republican candidate for governor this year. On May 30, she lost the Minnesota endorsement to businessman Kendall Qualls on the tenth ballot of the Republican convention.

Both the cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul passed legislation at the municipal level that reflects several of the proposals in SF4067. 

Thus far, 10 states and Washington, D.C., have enacted laws broadly banning the sale, manufacture, and transfer of semi-automatic weapons. The states are California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Washington.

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Type of guns used in mass shootings (The Trace, 2023)

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