Senate passes comprehensive gun-violence package with bans and increased funding; House has yet to act

The Minnesota Senate on Thursday approved a package of measures that its sponsor said combines bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines with new spending for mental-health services and school-safety aid.

Senator Zaynab Mohamed, who described herself as the lead sponsor, said the package is intended as a "holistic" approach that pairs restrictions on certain weapons with expanded funding for mental-health professionals and mobile crisis teams and with school-safety grants for both public and private schools. "We don't have to do one thing," Mohamed said. "Let's just do it all, and that's what this comprehensive package does."

Mohamed told the program she had worked on gun-violence issues since 2023 and referenced prior legislation on so-called red-flag laws as part of a continuing effort. She said families affected by the Annunciation Church shooting—identified in the segment as Mike Moiske and Jackie Flavin and their daughter Harper—played a central role in shaping recommendations and met with members of both parties.

The package includes provisions Mohamed described on air as a ban on high-capacity magazines and limits on certain weapons, together with roughly $14.7 million to expand access to mental-health supports and an additional $20 million to enhance school-safety measures, according to the program's summary of the legislation.

Senate Republicans criticized portions of the package as unconstitutional and warned that attaching tougher gun restrictions to funding could imperil the very programs those dollars would support. "My heart just breaks to see this get put in a poison pill that we know isn't constitutional," Minority Leader Mark Johnson was quoted as saying in the segment, arguing that the gun-control elements risk the funding that proponents highlight.

Mohamed acknowledged the vote split along party lines and urged the House to allow an up-or-down vote. "At least have the vote," she said, adding that members who oppose the measures would have the opportunity to vote no. As of May 14, the program reported, House leaders had not placed the package on the floor and DFL House members planned a sit-in to press for consideration.

The senator called the Senate action "historic," saying it was the first time a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines had cleared the Senate floor. She said courts in other states have upheld similar measures and framed the package as protective of both constitutional rights and children's safety.

What happens next is procedural: the House must take up the legislation for it to move toward becoming law. The program noted the House had not acted on the package as of the date cited.