Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan is a first-time gun owner

Lt. Gov Peggy Flanagan is a new gun owner.

Minnesota’s Democratic lieutenant governor revealed this week that she has purchased a small game hunting license and a 20 gauge Benelli shotgun in preparation for the annual Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener, held this year in in Sleepy Eye, Minn., on Friday and Saturday.

Flanagan said this would be her fifth time attending a pheasant opener, but her first with her own firearm, in an audio recording provided by her office from a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources kickoff to the hunting season.

“I am excited about that ... I’m strong and mighty, but I needed something a little bit lighter and also something a little bit shorter, because I’m short,” Flanagan said.

Going through the DNR process from start to finish was valuable for her and her family, Flanagan said.

“As a mom with a kiddo at home and a busy household, I cannot stress enough the importance of storing guns safely. We had the discussion in our family about bringing a firearm into our home,” she said.

Department of Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobson wished Flanagan and everyone in Minnesota a safe and successful hunting season.

“Please lock up your firearms in cabinets or safes when they’re not being used,” Jacobson said. “That is really important to safety. Please lock your ammunition in a separate cabinet or safe as well, so that they’re separate from the firearm.”

He also recommended gun locks for safe storage, and noted that DPS has given out 80,000 gun locks to Minnesotans.

The Walz administration is not saying whether Gov. Tim Walz, busy on the presidential campaign trail, would attend this weekend’s pheasant opener. His running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris, revealed in a recent “60 Minutes” interview that she is a gun owner.