Universal background checks on gun sales and a “red flag” law are not part of Senate Republicans’ new package of bills aimed at preventing violence. Senator Warren Limmer of Maple Grove said Tuesday “we have a reality that we have to deal with–we have a divided government. Taking up any extreme gun bill is going to be very difficult to pass in the other chamber.” But Senate Minority Leader Susan Kent says the GOP plan falls short. Kent says lawmakers agree that keeping Minnesotans safe is the goal but adds “Republicans say they’re concerned about increasing urban violence, but they’re refusing to even consider any plans to keep firearms out of the hands of dangerous people.” Limmer says the GOP bills are meant to build a consensus. Among bills in the GOP package: stricter enforcement of compliance on people who have already been court-ordered to surrender their firearms, increasing penalties for intentionally transferring a firearm to a known criminal from a gross misdemeanor to a felony, and prohibiting mayors and city councils from disarming peace officers in good standing.