As St. Paul reels from deadly weekend, gun control opponents recognize prevention bills may pass this session at Capitol
ST. PAUL, Minn. – There is anguish and fear after a violent weekend in St. Paul that left two people dead and five injured.
Someone opened fire on two separate celebration of life services. One service was for Devon Scott, the 15-year-old boy stabbed to death at Harding High School.
Residents who live near the shooting scenes are anxious.
"There's just too many young kids running around with guns, and I just don't understand it," one resident told WCCO.
The two killed Saturday have been identified as 37-year-old Troy Kennedy of St. Paul, and 34-year-old Larry Jiles Jr. of Hugo. Jiles was better known as "Chef Hot Hands."
A visibly-shaken Mayor Melvin Carter spoke after the second incident. The shooting happened less than 24 hours after three teens suffered non-life threatening injuries in a drive-by shooting at a service at the Wellstone Center for Scott. Carter reissued a call for gun restrictions.
"We continue to see some of the common sense gun violence prevention reforms that the vast majority of Minnesotans and the vast majority of Americans support," Carter said. "Any celebration, any community institution, any space can be violated in such a heartbreaking way."
Gov. Tim Walz tweeted, "The gun violence in St. Paul is unacceptable."
There are four major gun proposals making their way through the legislature. The two biggest are beefed-up background checks, and red flag law. Also before legislators is a tougher requirement for gun storage, and a bill requiring the reporting of a stolen handgun.
Rob Doar of the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus says none of those measures would have prevented this weekend's tragedies, but he says this could be the year one or more of these bills finally passes.
"I think it's likely that some of these bills will be passed. Of course, the narrow margin in the Senate is going to be a determining factor of that," Doar said. "There haven't been the strong commitments from those Greater Minnesota senators on these particular measures as there have been on some of the other controversial things that have moved forward."
Doar is the face of opposition to gun control measures in Minnesota. The caucus is a very powerful group, and for him to say there is a chance of one of these bills finally passing after all these years of being introduced and going nowhere is saying something.
What needs to happen at the DFL-controlled legislature for one of these to pass? The very slim DFL majorities in the House and Senate would have to hold. The majority in the Senate could not be narrower, at just one vote. But against all odds, the DFL has held it together in St. Paul for two months, which is why opponents like Doar are admitting this could be the year.
