Two weeks before the end of the legislative session, the Minnesota Senate has voted to approve a ban of assault-style guns and high-capacity magazines.
The vote, 34-33 along party lines, is the first time the Senate has approved such gun restrictions.
The omnibus bill, which also includes funding for school safety and mental health programs, still has to be approved by the Minnesota House before it can head to Gov. Tim Walz’s desk. In a split chamber, its future there is much murkier.
BREAKING: For the first time in history the MN Senate voted to ban sale of assault-type weapons and high capacity magazines. The vote was 34-33 along party lines with all Democrats in favor, GOP against. The bill also includes funding for school safety and mental health programs. pic.twitter.com/uxvHWJsMW4
— Tom Hauser (@thauserkstp) May 4, 2026
Democrats celebrated the bill’s approval as a “comprehensive package that will save lives” and answers the calls from many since the deadly attack at Annunciation last summer. Republicans said the bill has “extreme gun control policies” and accused Democrats of putting their agenda over student safety.
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“Today, the Senate stood up and voted to protect the lives of Minnesotans and to help prevent the unthinkable tragedies that have taken too many of our children, affected too many of our families and shattered the peace of too many of our schools and churches,” Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy said. “The shootings at Annunciation Church School, the attacks of June 14, and the killings of innocent Minnesotans by Federal ICE agents have shaken people across the state and across the State Capitol. We know that gun violence is complex, and this bill is a layered approach to dealing with it. It protects our schools and children, invests in mental health intervention and prevention, and it will keep the most dangerous weapons off our streets. I’m very proud of what the Senate has done today to save lives across our state.”
“Democrats have put politics first today. Senate Republicans believe deeply in funding school safety and mental health for students. We could have had a bill today that would pass the Senate and the House – but Democrats were unwilling to do it,” Senate Republican Leader Mark Johnson said. “Instead, they added unconstitutional, divisive, and partisan gun control measures to this bill to play politics with ‘gotcha votes’ rather than taking seriously the responsibility we all feel for our children. Senate Republicans will continue to put students first, not partisanship.”
Earlier in the day, supporters of the bill held a press conference to highlight the importance of gun safety legislation. Watch that video below.
