Minn. committee deadlocks on assault‑style weapons ban after emotional survivor testimony
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Summary
The House Public Safety Committee heard emotional testimony from Annunciation families and medical experts but split 10‑10 on re‑referring House File 34‑333 (an assault‑style weapons ban), so the motion failed. Supporters cited casualty patterns and trauma; opponents warned of constitutional challenges and limited impact.
Representative Greenman on Wednesday asked the House Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee to re‑refer House File 34‑333, an assault‑style weapons ban, after presenting an author’s amendment clarifying certification processes and BCA data privacy provisions.
Families who lost or were injured at the Aug. 27 Annunciation shooting described lasting trauma and urged lawmakers to act. "What is this gun for?" Jackie Flavin asked the committee, describing her daughter’s death and calling the AR‑style rifle a weapon "engineered for maximum tissue destruction." Gym teacher Harry Kaiser said the shooter fired more than 100 rounds and "we can save lives right now by saying that in Minnesota you cannot buy weapons that fire with the speed and destructiveness that only belong in war." Dr. Tim Coomer, an emergency physician at Hennepin Healthcare, said the weapon type led to maximum casualties and urged "meaningful and swift action to limit access to these weapons."
Opponents, including Rob Dorr of the Minnesota Gun Owners Law Center and Brian Gosh, a registered NRA lobbyist, said bans focus on cosmetic or feature‑based definitions and would likely face litigation. "Criminals don't comply with these laws," Dorr told the committee, and Gosh urged lawmakers to strengthen civil‑commitment statutes instead. Mariah Day of the National Shooting Sports Foundation cited industry data and warned the measures would criminalize firearms and magazines widely owned in the U.S.
Members debated the bill’s constitutionality and enforceability. Representative Greenman asked for a roll call; the clerk recorded 10 ayes and 10 nays, and the motion did not prevail.
The hearing drew wide public attention and prepared written testimony from clinicians, educators and survivors. Committee members referenced ongoing investigations into the Annunciation shooting and emphasized that the bill included a certification process administered by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for those who would retain weapons under a grandfathering provision.
Because the motion to re‑refer failed on a tie, HF34‑333 will not move forward from this committee. Supporters said they would continue to refine language and pursue measures that they argue would reduce casualty counts in the state’s deadliest recent mass shootings.