Backers will rally for universal background checks on gun purchases when the Minnesota Legislature opens its 2019 session next Tuesday. Incoming Governor Tim Walz supports it, and said after the mass shootings in California, “It’s just too many of those. We need to try taking some actions that the science behind this shows that we can make some reductions.”
Senate Republican Majority Leader Paul Gazelka has been noncommittal on possible measures to lessen gun violence but does say, “Certainly that’s an issue that there is some openness to finding some areas that we agree on.” Gazelka argues it’s necessary to address root causes of gun violence, including a decline in family values and violence in the media.