Minnesota Democratic lawmakers stage sit-in over gun violence protection bill | Minneapolis
Democratic state representatives in Minnesota held an overnight sit-in at their homes on Thursday after the Republican speaker failed to bring a gun violence prevention bill to a vote.
Samantha Sencer-Mura, a Democratic representative from Minneapolis, first announced the plan in the state House of Representatives on Wednesday, giving speaker Lisa Demuth, who is running for governor, 24 hours to vote on the bill before the sit-in begins.
Democrat-controlled Minnesota Senate narrowly passes gun violence prevention package at the beginning of this month. The parliament, which has a 67-67 vote and a Republican speaker, has not taken up the bill so far.
The push for new gun laws follows a shooting last August in which two students were killed and others were injured during a schoolwide mass at the Annunciation Catholic church. Minnesota also saw the murders of state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband and the shooting of state Rep. John Hoffman and his wife last summer.
Parents of 10-year-old Harper Moyski, who was killed in the Gospel shooting, and other Gospel students and their families, advocated for changes to state laws To prevent gun violence. 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel also lost his life in the conflict.
Invoice It includes a ban on semi-automatic military-style assault weapons and large-capacity magazines, regulations on safe storage of firearms, a ghost gun ban, changes to risk protection orders and provisions for schools to implement threat reporting systems, among other new policies.
Sencer-Mura had set a deadline until 17.00 on Thursday. A procedural motion to put the bill to a vote failed just before 9 p.m.
Sencer-Mura said that the MPs who participated in the sit-in protest planned to spend the night in the hall. Local Fox affiliate reported He said about 20 Democratic lawmakers plan to attend.
“Why is Speaker Lisa Demuth so afraid? The fact that she did not keep her promise to the Gospel families not to block the bill from coming to the floor shows me that she is afraid of the bill being passed,” Sencer-Mura said in a statement. “He’s afraid his members will listen to their constituents and choose to be on the right side of history.
“This is serious action to fight for serious solutions. Minnesotans deserve to be safe.”
Demuth’s office has been contacted for comment.
Also Thursday, advocates for the gun violence prevention bill filed a petition with more than 7,000 signatures from Everytown calling for the bill to be passed. Students and victims of gun violence spent the day meeting with lawmakers at the state capitol to advocate for the bill’s passage.
Last week, proponents of the bill staged demonstrations to draw attention to the bill, including a role-play of medical professionals simulating the aftermath of a gunshot wound, a “sing-along” and a prayer.
Tim Walz, a Democratic governor, pushed for Gun control measures.
Demuth, who has four children we were on the school campus In a 2003 school shooting in Cold Spring, Minnesota, he said gun bans were not the right response to Gospel attacks.
“When I saw the governor go out and immediately go to the gun ban, I thought… oh, that’s not the answer,” Demuth told the Minnesota Star Tribune in April. “This isn’t going to bring the kids back, and that’s all these families want.”
Harper Moyski’s parents, Mike Moyski and Jackie Flavin, met with Demuth and many other lawmakers as they pushed for new gun violence prevention laws. Them he told the Star Tribune He said they asked Demuth if he would allow a bill banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines to come to a vote on the house floor, and he told them he would allow them.
Demuth has previously said the bill must pass committees before being brought to the floor. HE said A Democratic lawmaker asked Wednesday when the bill would be moved and said it was “under review and will be moved at the appropriate time.”
The Minnesota legislature is in the final days of its legislative session and is scheduled to adjourn on May 18.
The Minnesota Gun Owners Group, a pro-gun lobby group, opposed the bill. The group posted on Twitter about the sit-in plan. in question: “It seems that constitutional rights are now subject to political performance art. No floor theater is changing the constitution.”
Erin Maye Quade, state senator Organized a 24-hour sit-in protest While he was a state representative in 2018 for his lack of action on gun control measures. Ultimately, it did not lead to new laws being passed to control guns.
