Minnesota officials are recommending that lawmakers pass legislation this session for weapons screening at the state Capitol.
During the last meeting of the Advisory Committee on Capitol Area Security on Tuesday members voted on potential security changes in accordance with a third-party assessment from The Axtell Group. The Axtell Group was hired July 29 in response to the Minnesota lawmaker shootings on June 14, as well as a break-in and threats of violence at the Capitol.
Weapons screening — which passed 4-2 — was the only recommendation from the report to not pass unanimously. Other recommendations include emergency drills and technology systems integration. The full 400-page report of Axtell’s assessment and recommendations is not available to the public as it is protected by the Government Data Privacy Act and contains sensitive security information, lawmakers said.
At the committee’s Jan. 7 meeting, Todd Axtell, former St. Paul police chief and founder of the Axtell group, said screening is the “biggest bang for your buck.”
“The No. 1 thing that the state of Minnesota could do to help keep people more safe in these spaces is to screen for dangerous items,” he said.
Funding
One of the members who voted against the weapons screening provision was Rep. Jim Nash, R-Waconia.
“The funding picture is beyond unclear, and my reticence on moving forward on that is because we don’t have an understanding of where things are. And as my legislative career has unfolded here, I don’t vote for things that I don’t have my arms folded around from a funding perspective,” he said Tuesday.
Rep. Kelly Moller, DFL-Shoreview, said she doesn’t think the funding rationale stands, as other security measures recommended Tuesday could also carry costs.
“I’m still a little uncertain as to why they use the funding rationale to vote ‘no’ for the thing that was the No. 1 item that the security folks said that we could do that would result in the biggest bang for our buck when it comes to security,” Moller said. “I really do hope that that changes when these bills do come before the Legislature.”
No explicit weapons vote
The committee didn’t explicitly vote on whether to ban certain weapons at the Capitol on Tuesday, despite at least some support from the public to do so. Lexi Anderson with Students Demand Action testified in favor of banning guns before the committee.
“Plans being discussed are a great first step. Banning guns from Capitol grounds should also be part of the safety plan when students come here, it matters that we know that adults are thinking ahead about our safety,” she said. “The first thing my mom said to me when I told her I was here today to testify … ‘I don’t know if that’s safe.’ My friends who are part of Students Demand Action aren’t here today because they are afraid of being shot and detained in this very building.”
It’s not clear whether the vote to recommend weapons screening includes a recommendation to ban guns. After the meeting adjourned, Sen. Bonnie Westlin, DFL-Plymouth, said she thinks banning guns is “implicit” in the weapons screening recommendation.
“I think that addressing guns on the Capitol is implicit in this weapons screening, and I think the lieutenant governor has said, ‘We’re going to screen for weapons. That’s what we’re recommending, and that people should not be bringing guns on the Capitol complex,’” Westlin said.
Minnesota 1 of 6 capitols that don’t restrict firearms
Minnesota’s is one of six capitols that don’t restrict firearms, and one of 10 without some form of weapons screening, according to the Axtell group.
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A Minnesota State Fair poll conducted by Minnesota House Research found 79% of 10,000 fairgoers favored banning guns. At an Advisory Committee on Capitol Area Security meeting on Jan. 7, Maggiy Emery, executive director of Protect Minnesota, testified in favor of banning guns.
“We’re living through a period of rapidly rising political violence,” she said. “Allowing guns in the Capitol doesn’t make this building safer. It magnifies intimidation, silences voices, and pushes advocates, staff and community members out of civic engagement. No one should have to choose between protecting their life, engaging in democracy and doing their job.”
