The Minnesota chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety, released the following statements today applauding Minnesota Governor Tim Walz for including extensive gun violence prevention measures in the proposed “Proposed One Minnesota Public Safety Budget Package”. The budget package outlines a plan to protect the health and safety of Minnesotans.
“Gun violence prevention measures are only effective if they are properly resourced and implemented,” said Kathleen Anderson, a volunteer with the Minnesota chapter of Moms Demand Action. “We thank Governor Walz for prioritizing comprehensive and life-saving gun violence prevention measures in the One Minnesota Budget package.”
Governor Walz and Lieutenant Governor Flanagan’s public safety budget package includes a proposal of $300 million to local governments to address unique public safety needs, and creating and supporting statewide, collaborative initiatives. The budget also includes support to measures to require background checks on private firearm sales, allow for extreme risk protection orders to help remove firearms from those who pose an immediate threat to themselves or others, raising the minimum age for purchasing military-style firearms to 21 years old, prohibiting high-capacity magazines, and promoting secure storage of firearms. Additionally, the package proposes the Violent Crime Reduction Strategy, a new statewide initiative to address violent crime.
Governor Walz and Lieutenant Governor Flanagan’s budget also establishes the Office of Missing and Murdered African American Women, which would be dedicated to preventing and ending the targeting of violence against Black women and girls, as well as investigating and reviewing cold cases where Black women and girls have been murdered or missing. In Minnesota, Black people are 14 times more likely to die by gun homicide than white people. Further, according to the Missing and Murdered African American Women Task Force, Black women in Minnesota are almost 3 times as likely to be killed than their white peers. Black women account for only 7% of the population of Minnesota, but make up 40% of domestic violence victims.
In an average year, 462 people die and 811 are wounded by guns in Minnesota. An average of 41 children and teens die by guns every year in the state, of which 55% of these deaths are suicides and 39% are homicides. Gun violence in Minnesota costs $1,174 per person each year. Gun deaths and injuries cost Minnesota $6.6 billion each year, of which $105.5 million is paid by taxpayers.More information about gun violence in Minnesota is available here.