Donning blue T-shirts, several parents whose children go to Annunciation Catholic Church and School were in attendance. In the wake of the Aug. 27 shooting at the church, Morrison said legislators needed to do more to prevent mass shootings.
“There isn’t one policy that’s going to solve this very complicated problem,” she said. “The thing that most people want in the United States is a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and I am signed on to those.”
The town hall came as state and federal legislators are at odds over how to move forward after a summer of high-profile shooting deaths, including the assassinations of former DFL House Speaker Melissa Hortman in June and conservative commentator Charlie Kirk earlier this month.
The Minnesota Legislature is eyeing a special session on gun violence, but Republicans and Democrats disagree about whether to ban assault weapons and pass other new gun restrictions. Republicans have proposed more school security measures and funding for mental health treatment beds.
Morrison said the conversation at the Capitol is overdue and pledged her support to reinstate a federal ban on semi-automatic weapons and high-capacity weapons that expired in 2004.
Morrison also voiced her support for a federal red flag law, which would allow family members, partners and law enforcement to request the temporary removal of guns from someone they fear is a danger to themselves. She said she plans to co-sponsor the legislation with Georgia Rep. Lucy McBath. Minnesota’s red flag law went into effect in 2024.
“There is a common desire to keep our kids safe,” Morrison said. “No one wants their child to be shot, so I think this is an opportunity for Democrats and Republicans to work together to pass meaningful gun reform and keep our kids and communities safe.”
Morrison was joined at the town hall by three mothers who had children in Annunciation Catholic Church when a gunman sprayed 116 rounds from a rifle into the school in under two minutes.
The shooting killed 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moyski and injured 21 others. Since the shooting, Stephanie Moscetti said her son has asked questions she doesn’t know how to answer.
“My son was an honorary pallbearer at his friend’s funeral. How is this our reality?” Moscetti said.
Carla Maldonado, a trauma therapist, had two kids inside the church at the time of the shooting. She said the community is now carrying “the invisible wounds of trauma and grief.”
“[My children] are not the same children that I dropped off that morning,” Maldonado said. “They flinch at loud noises. They don’t want to be alone. They struggle to fall asleep at night.”
Maldonado thanked Morrison and the crowd for attending, regardless of their perspectives on gun control, and for taking the “first step toward change.”
Some in the crowd said “amen” when Morrison and Dr. Patricia Valusek, who was the trauma surgeon at Children’s Minnesota hospital on the day of the shooting, voiced their hopes for teachers and students to no longer fear gun violence in schools.
Morrison said she plans to bring the stories of the Annunciation community with her to Washington for the next session. She said it’s the only way to get other lawmakers to listen.
“I figured, I’m going to bring my charts and my data and my facts, and we’re going to make good policy,” Morrison said about her initial thoughts when going to Congress. “I learned quickly that that’s not how you change hearts and minds. Stories are powerful.”
During a Sunday night town hall, Morrison said she plans to take the stories of Annunciation Church families with her for her second session in Congress.