Minnesota House Republicans vote down assault weapons ban in committee

On Tuesday, Minnesota lawmakers on the House Public Safety, Finance & Policy Committee discussed a package of gun safety bills — including an assault weapons ban — all of which were voted down by Republicans.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (DFL) introduced the new package of Democrat-written bills in a press conference Tuesday alongside members from the local Annunciation Catholic School community. Walz contended that the bills, which also include banning high-capacity ammunition magazines, would save lives without infringing on Second Amendment rights.

“These are things that data shows us will protect lives. Will stop some of these things [mass shootings] from happening, and will strengthen what we already have,” Walz said.

Last August, a shooter conducted a mass shooting at the Annunciation school in Minneapolis during an all-school mass, where 30 people were injured (including 26 children). Harper Moyski, 10 years old, and Fletcher Merkel, eight years old, were killed. An AR-15 assault rifle was used in the shooting.

Since the disaster, Walz and Democrats in the state legislature have made multiple attempts to pass new gun safety laws. However, Republicans have repeatedly refused to negotiate on these proposals. GOP support is needed to move legislation forward since Republicans have partial control over the state House of Representatives, while the DFL controls the state Senate and governor’s mansion.

Walz also signed a series of gun safety executive orders last December after Republican leaders refused to negotiate on a special session addressing the issue.

New bills fail in committee on party lines

The committee heard testimony on House File 3433, a bill introduced by Rep. Emma Greenman (DFL-Minneapolis) that would ban the possession and sale of military-style assault weapons in the state if it were signed into law. Several survivors and parents of the victims from the Annunciation shooting, including Moyski’s mother Jackie Flavin, testified in favor of HF 3433 and described the gruesome details during and after the horrific event.

“There is a sound that comes out of a parent when their child dies,” Flavin told the committee. “It’s not a cry or a scream. It’s something older than language. It is so guttural and dark that it breaks everyone who hears it.”

Survivors and family members of the Annunciation Catholic Church School shooting in Minneapolis testify in favor of a bill that would ban the sale and possession of semi-automatic, military-style firearms. pic.twitter.com/gQhmCidHOg

— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) February 25, 2026

Despite parents and survivors pleading with lawmakers to pass the bill and potentially avoid a similar event from occurring in the future, HF 3433 failed to advance out of the committee in a 10-10 vote on party lines, with all nay votes coming from Republicans.

Below are the results of Tuesday’s roll call vote on HF 3433:

Aye votes:

• Co-Chair Kelly Muller (DFL)
• Co-Vice Chair Sandra Feist (DFL)
• Rep. Kaela Berg (DFL)
• Rep. Brion Curran (DFL)
• Rep. Emma Greenman (DFL)
• Rep. Athena Hollins (DFL)
• Rep. Peter Johnson (DFL)
• Rep. Dave Pinto (DFL)
• Rep. Lucy Rehm (DFL)
• Rep. Brad Tabke (DFL)

Nay votes:

• Co-Chair Paul Novotny (R)
• Co-Vice Chair Witte (R)
• Rep. Matt Bliss (R)
• Rep. Bidal Duran (R)
• Rep. Eliott Engen (R)
• Rep. Bobbie Harder (R)
• Rep. Walter Hudson (R)
• Rep. Aaron Repinski (R)
• Rep. Erica Schwartz (R)
• Rep. Terry Stier (R)

A roll call vote was also held on House File 3402 (banning the possession of large-capacity ammunition magazines), with the same party-line results.

Those speaking against the bills included Anna Leamy, a lobbyist for the Minnesota Gun Owner’s Caucus who argued that the bills would not increase safety but rather create new “constitutional problems.” Additionally, Leamy cited Minnesota’s 2024 homicide data, claiming that rifles were only used in three of the 170 homicides recorded that year.

“Even if prohibition somehow eliminated the things you’re trying to ban, it would not keep our kids safe,” Leamy said in her testimony. “Our communities deserve better than the partisan, symbolic measures offered here today.”

Flavin told the committee that she was unable to see her daughter’s body again due to the severe damage caused by the AR-15-style assault rifle used in the Annunciation shooting.

“I’m still waiting for someone to explain why a weapon capable of this level of destruction belongs in ordinary civilian life. I haven’t heard an answer that holds up yet,” Flavin told lawmakers. “We can’t fix everything overnight, but we can decide what kind of fire power is normal in civilian life. We can decide that some things are simply too destructive to be casual. Minnesota can be brave.”

Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) lawmakers said they would continue pushing for new legislation.

“We’re going to come back to this Public Safety Committee and make sure that we are continuing to work on this,” Rep. Brad Tabke (DFL-Shakopee) told reporters after the committee adjourned Tuesday night. “It’s not going to be something that today was the last day.”

Lydia Kaiser, an eighth grader who survived a bullet wound to the head in the Annunciation Shooting, described her perspective of the shooting and her recovery during Walz’s press conference.

“I was in church attending the first school mass of the year when a gun fired 116 rounds of bullets through the stained-glass windows,” Kaiser said. “Two students were shot and killed. Two students survived gunshot injuries to the head. I am one of them.”

 

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