Overview
- Parents from Annunciation Catholic Church and School installed 60 desks outside the Capitol from Feb. 24–26 to symbolize more than 200 Minnesota children lost to gun violence since 2021.
- Two desks honor 10-year-old Harper Moyski and 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel, who were killed in the Aug. 27, 2025 shooting during an all-school Mass in Minneapolis.
- Organizers announced the nonpartisan, parent-led Annunciation Light Alliance and scheduled reflection and song in the Capitol Rotunda on Tuesday afternoon and Thursday morning.
- Walz’s proposal includes bans on assault-style rifles and high-capacity magazines, safe-storage and lost-or-stolen reporting requirements, limits on ghost guns, a firearm insurance mandate, a firearm and ammunition tax, and early intervention resources.
- Eighth grader and shooting survivor Lydia Kaiser urged action at the news conference, as House Democrats prepared to take up the assault weapons and magazine bills with Republicans emphasizing school security and mental-health funding.