Gov. Tim Walz, Gabby Giffords to hold gun control town hall in Waconia

Former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords will join Minnesota Gov Tim Walz for a town hall meeting promoting new gun control laws on Saturday in a Republican-held legislative district at the western edge of the Twin Cities metro The Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party is hosting the event in Waconia weeks after negotiations between Walz and legislative Republicans on a special legislative session on gun control and school safety reached an impasse Initially the governor had noted he would call lawmakers back to the Capitol one way or another following the August shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis that killed two young children and injured But as talks between Walz and GOP leaders over several weeks failed to yield a deal the governor started to shift his tone and reported he would instead start hosting town hall meetings on gun violence I need to get an agreement on this If we re going to hold a special session on safety of our children and safety of our streets we need to talk about guns Walz recounted reporters at the Capitol on Oct as negotiations stalled Otherwise calling a special session is going to be a waste of money and a waste of time Giffords is a former Democratic member of Congress from Arizona who was shot while campaigning in She s since become an advocate for preventing gun violence No bills can reach the governor s desk without bipartisan assistance in Minnesota s narrowly divided Legislature where the House is tied - and there is a one-seat DFL majority in the Senate And chosen rural DFLers are hesitant to back gun control bills Saturday s town hall will take place in the Senate district represented by Sen Julia Coleman R-Waconia and the House district of Rep Jim Nash R-Waconia which falls within the borders of Coleman s Senate district A DFL spokesperson mentioned the party invited both Nash and Coleman Neither plan to attend the event Coleman received the invitation but could not attend due to a scheduling conflict according to a Senate Republican caucus spokesperson Nash did not respond to a request for comment The town hall starts p m at Waconia High School Walz and Giffords will be joined by other elected personnel gun safety organizations doctors educators survivors and neighborhood members Related Articles Gun owners group says it ll sue if St Paul moves forward with firearms ordinance Fighting fraud core issue for GOP gubernatorial candidate Kristin Robbins Melvin Carter Jacob Frey call for local gun ordinances including ability to ban assault weapons in city limits MN to launch paid family biological leave venture Jan How will it work Letters It s not left or right that matters the majority but the vengeful alienation