Minnesota Senate committee passes assault-style weapons ban

( KSTP )

The Minnesota Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee got through 14 of 17 bills related to gun violence on Friday.

The bill with the highest priority, a ban on assault-style guns and high-capacity magazines, passed on a 6-3 vote with Democrats voting in favor and Republicans against.

One of the main witnesses in favor of the ban was the father of 10-year-old Harper Moyski, one of two kids killed in the Annunciation Church and School shooting last August. The other was 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel.

“This weekend Harper should be playing in the snow with her friends, laughing and running around,” Mike Moyski testified.

He then asked committee members to imagine the terror during the Annunciation shooting with an assault-style weapon. “To sit in silence with us for two minutes and try to imagine even a fraction of what our children and community experienced that day.”

After the two minutes of silence, he added, “Before you accuse our stories of being political theater, I want you to recognize that actors and stage crew get to go home at night to their lives. We go home at night to an empty room and an empty chair at our kitchen table.”

Even opponents of the ban expressed empathy for the parents of gun violence victims while disagreeing about whether banning any guns will stop mass shootings.

“I grieve with the families in this room,” said Jonathan Hauptman, a gun rights supporter. “Their pain deserves honesty, and we can find something to win on together, but this is not it.”

Gun rights supporters say the focus should be on mental health and school security, not taking away Second Amendment rights. Others say banning any particular type of gun won’t stop gun violence.

“But if that is the standard, we ought to repeal a lot of laws,” Moyski replied. “Seatbelts don’t stop every fatal crash. Drunk driving laws don’t stop every accident. Domestic violence laws don’t stop every assault.”

Fourteen of 17 bills, ranging from the assault-type weapons ban to school security measures, passed the committee. Three others will be heard at a later date.

Any controversial gun bills will face difficulty passing in the Senate, where Democrats control the chamber by just one vote, and in the House, where Republicans and Democrats share power in a 67-67 tie.