By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has taken what MPR News described as “modest steps on guns” by signing two executive orders which ostensibly “could help head off gun violence,” but Second Amendment advocates in the state are calling it a “distraction.”
Quoted by MPR, Walz told reporters, “There’s no one fix to this, but there are certainly things that we know. There are certain things we’ve learned globally that make a difference, and these two actions will be another step in that direction.”
One of his orders creates a “statewide safety council” which will be tasked with studying gun-related violence and coming up with ideas to help reduce its effects. But Bryan Strawser, chairman of the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, was skeptical.
“What we got today were low-impact orders that serve more as political cover than meaningful policy,” Strawser said in a prepared statement. “It’s a distraction from the fact that the Governor couldn’t build support for his agenda within his own party.”
The Caucus is a state affiliate of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, a national grassroots organization.
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The move by Walz came after he spent months trying to get the Legislature to hold a special session on guns. Republicans resisted, even following the mass shooting at the Annunciation Catholic Church and School back in August. The governor’s intent was to go after so-called “assault weapons” and “high-capacity magazines.” Republicans wanted the session to do more than focus on Walz’ gun control schemes, MPR reported.
Strawser, at the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, was quick to criticize the makeup of the governor’s proposed gun safety council because gun owners weren’t included.
“The newly announced Statewide Safety Council raises serious concerns,” Strawser’s statement noted. “The council is composed entirely of appointed officials and pro–gun control advocates, with no representation from the Second Amendment community. Like similar advisory panels in the past, it appears designed to deliver predetermined recommendations aligned with the Governor’s policy goals rather than to provide balanced input or genuine stakeholder engagement.”
The other executive order Walz signed “calls for tracking the cost of gun violence and adds funding to educate gun owners on safe storage,” MPR reported.
It is not clear how either of these measures will “help head off gun violence.” That seemed to be the concern of Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, a Grand Forks Republican. According to MPR, Johnson issued a statement in which he observed, “Executive action to study and educate the public on gun safety are not actual solutions to keeping kids safe in school. Addressing mental health, intervening before a crisis turns violent, and active safety protocols are real solutions that Republicans support to keep our kids safe.”
As noted by KSTP News, Johnson further commented, “The actions today will do nothing to actually keep people safe, but the bills and policies from Minnesota Democrats are actively putting the public’s safety at risk every day.”
