Move beyond 'thoughts and prayers'

Opinion editor's note: Editorials represent the opinions of the Star Tribune Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom.

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The U.S. has reached a grim, seemingly impossible milestone. A scant seven weeks into the new year, this country has endured more than 70 mass shootings (those in which at least four people are injured or killed). One of the most recent came earlier this week, when a gunman killed three Michigan State University students and left five others fighting for their lives.

We grieve for those students, their families and their loved ones. We also know that grieving is not enough. President Joe Biden has again called for a ban on assault weapons, but with a GOP-controlled House, that is unlikely.

Here in Minnesota, legislators have a far better chance, at last, to push through common-sense measures that can make us safer and with little inconvenience to gun owners.

Among two of the most important: Universal background checks that would include private sales of firearms — not just those that go through licensed dealers — and a red-flag law, also known as "Extreme Risk Protection Orders," which allow family members or authorities who can document dangerous behavior to petition a civil court for temporary removal of firearms and a prohibition on new purchases while the order is in effect.

State Sen. Ron Latz, DFL-St. Louis Park, who chairs the judiciary and public safety committee, told an editorial writer that both bills have long been needed. "We have some big gaps in the current [background check] law, including the gun show loophole, online transactions, and even people meeting in a parking lot who connected on social media," he said, noting that such transactions "now make up about 40% of all sales."

According to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, an estimated 80% of all firearms acquired for criminal purposes are obtained through such private transfers from unlicensed sellers. Fourteen states already require background checks for private sales, and 21 states have some type of expanded background checks.

Similarly, Latz said, Minnesota should join the 19 states that already have red-flag laws. The Michigan gunman had a previous weapons charge, a history of mental health issues, and was suspected by his family of having obtained a gun. "A red-flag law there might have helped," Latz said.

Another bill moving through the House and Senate would require owners to notify local law enforcement within 48 hours of a weapon being stolen. According to Everytown for Gun Safety, some 15 states already require gun owners to make such a notification. Another Minnesota would mandate secure storage of firearms when not in use.

These sensible measures have drawn widespread support. The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, which represents more than 10,000 law enforcement officials, testified earlier this month in support of safe storage, expanded background checks and mandatory reporting of stolen weapons. The Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association testified at the Capitol in support of background checks and red-flag laws.

Gov. Tim Walz, who also is a hunter, told an editorial writer that "guns have been elevated to a position of sacredness among some. That's wrong. Society requires us to work and live together. That means some reasonable changes are needed."

Joyce Hayden, whose daughter Taylor died from gun violence in 2016, testified during a recent House committee hearing and pleaded with lawmakers to pass the bills. Taylor Hayden was the sister of former state Sen. Jeff Hayden. "We can do something to end gun violence," Joyce Hayden said. "We don't have to live with this trauma. We shouldn't have to be telling our stories. We've heard way too many."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 79% of all homicides and 53% of all suicides in 2020 involved firearms. The increase in firearms homicides that year was the highest recorded in more than 25 years. More than 43,000 Americans die from gun violence annually, and firearms are now the leading cause of death among children and teens.

The House, with a solid DFL majority, expects to pass the four bills. The struggle has always been in the Senate, where previous Republican majorities blocked gun bills and even stopped some from being heard. DFLers now hold a one-seat majority.

Latz said he is cautiously optimistic but notes that opposition to gun reforms have not always fallen strictly along party lines. "We have a lot of new members in the Senate," he said. "We will have to see where all of them are on this."

Concerned Minnesotans should make their voices heard in the Senate. Polls have shown widespread and growing support for common-sense gun laws. A 2022 Minnesota Poll showed that an overwhelming 9 out of 10 Minnesotans supported expanded criminal-background checks.

Is it too much to hope that this nation has become weary of the carnage, weary of burying schoolchildren, college students, grocery shoppers, church worshipers, senior patrons at a dance hall and countless others who, in what should have been a normal day, became victims of a society's unhealthy fascination with gun violence? It is not. But it will require more than thoughts and prayers to make the changes needed.

Editorial Board members are David Banks, Jill Burcum, Scott Gillespie, Denise Johnson, Patricia Lopez, John Rash and D.J. Tice. Star Tribune Opinion staff members Maggie Kelly and Elena Neuzil also contribute, and Star Tribune Publisher and CEO Michael J. Klingensmith serves as an adviser to the board.