Angry that he didn’t get enough support to actually call a special session of the legislature to try and pass more gun control restrictions, on December 16, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed two executive orders on guns. Fortunately, neither is likely to have much impact.
Purported to address “gun violence,” gun-ban advocates’ name for criminal violence, the first executive order creates an “educational” campaign to promote the state’s “red-flag” laws, mandatory storage scheme and directs the Department of Commerce to collect data from insurance companies on the “costs of gun violence.”
The second order creates a Statewide Safety Council with a stated goal of preventing “mass violence, targeted attacks, and domestic terrorism.” Unsurprisingly, the council doesn’t include representation from any pro-freedom organizations.
“I do not have the capacity as governor to issue an executive order to get rid of [assault weapons], but what I do have the ability to do is to start to move in a direction,” he said ahead of signing the orders.
Of course, Walz laid in on thick in the introductions to his executive order. The first order stated: “Minnesotans widely agree that comprehensive and common-sense gun legislation is essential. We need the legislature to enact meaningful changes to protect Minnesotans. I urge our legislators to pass comprehensive gun violence prevention legislation as soon as the legislative session begins. This includes a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Minnesotans are ready—recent polling shows that nearly seven in ten Minnesotans (69%) support an assault-weapons ban, with even higher levels of support in the suburbs (79%). But until legislators act, my administration is committed to thinking creatively and using every tool available to ensure safety and security.”
In the second executive order, Walz crowed: “Creating the solutions needed to address and prevent mass violence, targeted attacks, and domestic terrorism at this critical moment requires an all hands on deck approach. Minnesota is fortunate to have so many dedicated leaders committed to building a future free of this violence.”
In announcing the executive actions, Walz, the failed vice presidential candidate, also got in some zingers.
“These actions today don’t limit your freedoms at all. Being shot dead in your school certainly does,” Walz said. “There’s no one fix to this, but there are certainly things that we know, there are certain things we’ve learned globally that make a difference, and these two actions will be another step in that direction.”
Actually, Walz’s pet proposal—banning so-called “assault weapons” and normal capacity magazines—has not been proven effective. In fact, the nation had a federal ban for 10 years, but Congress chose to let it sunset when there was no proof it had lowered violent crime.
Likely the only thing any of the things in Walz’s executive order will accomplish is more of the same—plans to ban guns, restrict carry for self-defense, and accommodate confiscation of firearms without due process. However, the first orders’ provision directing insurance agencies to collect data about guns has raised concerns with the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus.
“We are closely reviewing the legality of Governor Walz’s executive order directing state agencies to gather data from insurance companies, including any information related to firearms owned by peaceable, law-abiding Minnesotans,” the organization said on a post on X, formerly Twitter. “We have already heard from dozens of our members who are deeply concerned that the Walz administration is attempting to build a registry of gun owners and the firearms they legally own by using insurance records as a backdoor mechanism.
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