Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Our hearts are broken by the recent shooting at Annunciation Catholic School. Two innocent children were taken from us and many more were wounded.

Our Creator instructs us in troubled times “not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Prayer is powerful and the Lord wants to hear from us. Prayer grants us direct communication to the throne room of the universe. The Lord seeks our prayer and conversation with Him allowing us to hear his heart and receive His peace. I ask you to join me in praying for healing for the victims, their families, first responders, the entire Annunciation family, the State of Minnesota, and our great Republic.

As details continue to emerge, we know the shooter was a deeply disturbed and unwell individual. The shooter left behind chilling journal entries and videos revealing struggles with identity and self-loathing, along with untreated mental health issues that all spiraled into this horrific violence. While we must keep the focus on the innocent children and families torn apart, we also cannot ignore the truth too many Minnesotans are not receiving the help they need before a crisis turns into a tragedy. I will continue to push for better access to mental health support for anyone who needs it. Prevention is key and ignoring the issue only leads to heartbreak. 

Governor Walz has suggested he may call a special session on guns. I welcome any genuine discussion about ideas that will actually work to keep children safe and everyone safe and prevent violence, but additional restrictions on law abiding gun owners are not the answer. Democrats controlled the House, Senate, and Governor’s office for two full years and despite their promises, the gun restrictions they passed on law-abiding gun owners did nothing to prevent this attack, nor will they prevent future attacks. The Annunciation shooter said as much in his journal, noting that gun laws are easy to bypass and only hurt honest gun owners. Those intent on evil do not follow rules. 

The shooter’s own words also confirm what we already knew: gun-free zones do not work. In his journal, Westman admitted being “scared of good guys with guns,” and chose a school because he doubted even one adult would be armed. Every time we tell responsible adults they are not allowed to defend themselves or the people around them, we hand violent criminals exactly what they want: a guarantee their victims will be defenseless.

If the governor is truly serious about preventing violence, then he will work across the aisle with Republicans on reforms that actually protect our children and strengthen the security of our schools: More SROs, more school safety funding, and more and better access to mental health support for people in crisis. Minnesotans deserve schools that are secure, where doors and windows are hardened, where trained School Resource Officers are present, where threats are identified and addressed early.

Our children also deserve schools where staff who are properly trained and willing to accept the responsibility be allowed to defend themselves and students. For this reason, if a special session is called, I will be re-introducing SF 713, the bill I chief authored to create a voluntary program allowing school and post-secondary employees with a valid carry permit to undergo state-developed training, earn a school-specific authorization, and carry on campus if they choose. Local leaders remain in control and participation is optional, but the end result is more layers of protection for students and school staff which is exactly what Minnesotans have been demanding. If there is no special session, I will continue pushing for my bill in 2026.

Children deserve to know they are safe in their classrooms and parents deserve peace of mind when sending their children off to school each morning. Our focus should be solutions that will actually work, not seizing the moment to play politics.

Capitol Address

95 University Avenue W.
Minnesota Senate Bldg. 2413
St. Paul, MN 55155

651-296-5655

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