MN Gun Owners Caucus Opposes Capitol Complex Gun Ban

In the wake of the murder of Minnesota State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband (and the attempted murder of a state senator and his wife) back in June, the Minnesota Advisory Committee on Capitol Security met this week to discuss potential changes to security at the statehouse; including a ban on lawfully carried firearms. 

While no recommendations were made by the committee during Wednesday’s hearing, the group did receive a number of comments from interested parties, including the Miinnesota Gun Owners Caucus, which urged the committee not to enact any new prohibitions on concealed carry holders. 

“If weapons screening is implemented, Minnesota should follow the approach of Texas and other states and allow permit holders to bypass the screening and continue to carry firearms for self-defense,” Bryan Strawser, chair of the caucus, wrote in a comment to the committee.

The committee received about 200 comments from members of the public who oppose limiting firearms at the Capitol.

Officials with the Department of Public Safety also gave the committee a rundown of changes that DPS has made in recent months, including the commissioning of a third-party security assessment that is expected by year’s end, a reduction in the number of public entrances to the Capitol building and the hiring of additional staff.

Banning guns from the Capitol complex would be a terrible idea, and wouldn’t make lawmakers or the general public any safer. Even if metal detectors and armed guards could guarantee that a killer couldn’t make it into the building with a weapon (which isn’t the case), they could always wait for their target to emerge from the gun-free zone before attacking them. The capitol’s “gun-free” status, meanwhile, would prevent any potential victim from being able to arm themselves for self-defense, whether inside the building or on their way to their car. 

“I personally favor weapon screening systems as well as more cameras and bag checks, but I know that I am just one vote on this committee,” [Lt. Gov. Peggy] Flanagan said during the meeting.

Minnesota is one of about 10 states that don’t require security screening, such as metal detectors or X-ray machines, to enter their capitol buildings. Under current law, Minnesotans with a permit to carry can bring a gun inside the Capitol complex.

Flanagan’s comments echo those of Gov. Tim Walz, who said over the summer that the Legislature should consider banning guns at the Capitol.

Of course that was what Walz suggested. Now that he’s no longer posing as a Second Amendment defender in order to get Kamala Harris elected president, Walz can revert back to his traditional point of view of favoring all kinds of restrictions on our right to keep and bear arms, including our ability to carry in self-defense. 

Two legislators were shot in their homes, allegedly in a politically motivated act of violence, and Walz’s first inclination is to make it impossible for other lawmakers and their staff to defend themselves while they’re at work. 

I’m with Strawser. If officials want to install metal detectors and have a uniformed security presence at entrances to the Capitol building, that’s fine. But individuals who can lawfully carry a firearm in Minnesota should still be able to do so in the Capitol complex, just as they can today. Disarming them only puts them at greater risk of harm, and the committee should reject Walz’s gun control demands as they move forward. 

Editor’s Note: Criminals love “gun-free zones” because they ensure their victims won’t be able to shoot back. 

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