Key Obstacle To Minnesota Assault Weapons Ban: Republican Voters Don't Want It

By Michelle Griffith, Minnesota Reformer

October 1, 2025

The majority of Minnesotans in recent polling want lawmakers to reconvene for a special session on gun control and pass a ban on so-called assault weapons, but that may not ultimately matter as Gov. Tim Walz and legislative leaders negotiate a deal to reduce gun violence and improve school safety.

The August mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church has brought the gun control debate to the fore, and Walz and legislative leaders have been meeting behind closed doors to see if they can agree for a special legislative session to pass gun control and school safety measures.

Results from a recent Everytown for Gun Safety poll were especially stark in the suburbs: 62% of suburban Minnesotans said they support the Legislature taking action to ban assault weapons. The results mirror a recent KSTP poll, which found 60% percent of suburban voters said there should be a special session and 60% said they support a ban on assault weapons.

Given the importance of those suburban areas in determining the next legislative majorities, you would think Republican lawmakers might be open to compromise.

But here’s another key finding of the Everytown poll, which surveyed 800 likely 2026 midterm election voters earlier this month: On the assault weapons ban, 93% of Democrats said they support it, while 68% of Republicans said they oppose it.

In other words, Republican lawmakers face the prospect of angering their own base, which could lead to GOP convention and primary challenges, especially because many gun rights voters are single-issue voters who can be activated to oppose Republicans deemed insufficiently supportive of 2nd Amendment rights.

Indeed, the Reformer called several suburban Republicans to ask them where they stand on an assault weapons ban. Reps. Andrew Myers of Tonka Bay, Tom Dippel of Cottage Grove, Jeff Witte of Lakeville did not respond to the Reformer’s messages seeking comment. Rep. Kristin Robbins, R-Maple Grove, declined to comment.

First-term Rep. Wayne Johnson, R-Cottage Grove, told the Reformer he doesn’t support an assault weapons ban.

“I am not wavering. I am not in favor of a ban … and I don’t see it working,” said Johnson, who won his 2024 race by 327 votes.

Without Republicans, new gun regulations are impossible. That’s because 67 Republicans and 67 Democrats share power.

The Senate is currently short two members until a Nov. 4 special election, after which Democrats are expected to maintain their slim majority, but until then, they are a vote shy of the necessary 34.

While Walz is blaming Republicans for the special session stalemate, it’s unclear whether Senate Democrats have the votes in their own party to pass an assault weapons ban.

Three Senate Democrats, who were instrumental in holding up the assault weapons ban when Democrats controlled the Legislature in 2023, didn’t respond to the Reformer’s request for comment.

Minnesota senators recently convened for a working group on gun control, during which Republicans appeared steady in their support for gun rights while Democrats forwarded several gun control proposals.

For his part, Walz has said he will call a special session even if he fails to reach an agreement with Republican lawmakers but he has given no indication of when he would call one.

“It’s clear to me that Republican legislators want to talk about everything else except guns,” Walz recently told reporters, adding that “there is no appetite on the Republican side to hold a floor vote on guns.

On Saturday, parents of the surviving children of the Church of the Annunciation were joined by hundreds of community members at the Capitol calling on Walz to convene a special session.

Brittany Haeg, whose six-year-old son David was injured in the shooting, urged lawmakers to act quickly and decisively. “I’m here to tell you as a Catholic, as a mother, as a human: prayers in place of action when you have the power to act are a betrayal of prayer itself.”

For now, however, it appears gun control advocates have two options: Persuade Republicans to support new restrictions, or beat them in next year’s election.

The Minnesota Reformer is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to keeping Minnesotans informed and unearthing stories other outlets can’t or won’t tell..