Minnesota Senate Passes Sweeping Gun Reform Bill on Narrow Vote, but House Future Remains Uncertain
Contributing writer Izzy Canizares reports on the Minnesota Senate's narrow 34-33 passage of a sweeping gun reform bill that would ban semi-automatic assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines, invest $20 million in school safety and fund mental health resources, as its fate in the Republican-led House remains uncertain with two weeks left in the legislative session.Contributing writer Izzy Canizares reports on the Minnesota Senate's narrow 34-33 passage of a sweeping gun reform bill that would ban semi-automatic assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines, invest $20 million in school safety and fund mental health resources, as its fate in the Republican-led House remains uncertain with two weeks left in the legislative session.
A sweeping gun reform bill that would ban the sale of semi-automatic assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines passed the Minnesota Senate on a narrow 34-33 vote May 4, but its future is uncertain in the House, where Republicans remain opposed and the legislative session ends in two weeks.
The bill also includes $20 million in school safety aid for every school in Minnesota, $2.7 million in school-linked behavioral health grants for early intervention, funding for mental health and public safety, and an anonymous reporting system. It is among the most ambitious gun legislation the state has considered.
The bill comes after a series of deadly shootings in Minnesota in the past year, including the Annunciation school shooting, the murders of state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark Hortman, and the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Parents of Annunciation victims advocated for the legislation.
“Today, the Senate stood up and voted to protect the lives of Minnesotans and to help prevent the unthinkable tragedies that have taken too many of our children, affected too many of our families, and shattered the peace of too many of our schools and churches,” Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy said. “We know that gun violence is complex, and this bill is a layered approach to dealing with it. It protects our schools and children, invests in mental health intervention and prevention, and keeps the most dangerous weapons off our streets.”
Every Senate Republican voted against the measure, and opponents say the same dynamic is likely to play out in the House.
“Minnesotans have been asking their elected leaders to pass gun violence prevention legislation, and that is exactly what we are doing with a comprehensive package that will save lives,” said Sen. Ron Latz. “These are reasonable measures that would help prevent mass shootings, injuries, and deaths in our communities. I urge my colleagues in the House to find common ground and join us in keeping Minnesotans safe.”
Sen. Zaynab Mohamed, the bill’s co-author, said the legislation does not force a tradeoff between gun restrictions and school investment.
“This legislation is comprehensive, and doesn’t compromise on our values,” Mohamed said. “Students and parents do not want us to choose between banning weapons of war and investing in schools. They demand we do both. Any one of these provisions would make our schools safer immediately. All of them together will make our schools safer forever.”
Bryan Strawser, chair of the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus Support, said the bill’s gun control provisions are a nonstarter, arguing the semi-automatic ban would not have prevented the Annunciation shooting and will have little effect on gun violence broadly.
“We are opposed to the gun control provisions in this bill that would infringe upon the Second Amendment rights of peaceable Minnesotans,” Strawser said. “None of these steps would have prevented the awful tragedy at Annunciation and will have little to no impact on violence involving firearms in Minnesota. Instead, the DFL is essentially blocking funding and programs that would markedly improve school safety and access to mental health resources by mandating that it must be connected to the passage of gun control.”
Strawser said his organization supports the school safety and mental health investments in the bill, but not at the cost of what he called constitutional rights.
“We reject the false choice that Minnesotans must give up constitutional rights in order to improve public safety,” Strawser said. “The problem is that DFL leadership chose to package those investments together with policies that infringe on the constitutional rights of law-abiding Minnesotans, including bans on commonly owned firearms and magazines that are in lawful use by millions of Americans.”
There has been no update on a House vote. Families impacted by gun violence expressed frustration with Republicans who opposed the bill, including Mike Moyski, whose 10-year-old daughter Harper was killed in the Annunciation shooting.
“It’s also a God-given right for a nine-year-old and a 10-year-old to live beyond that age, right?” Moyski said, in response to Republicans who argued the gun provisions would infringe on their “God-given rights,” according to MPR. “So let’s get serious when we’re talking about God-given rights, especially on this topic.”
For more information on the bill, visit www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/94/2025/0/SF/1596/versions/latest/.
Izzy Canizares is a freelance journalist and contributing journalist for the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.