Washington, D.C. — Today, the Center for American Progress Action Fund released a new fact sheet showing that guns are increasingly fueling violent crime in Minnesota, where, over the past decade, the share of murders committed with a firearm has increased 27 percent and statewide gun sales have surged a stunning 180 percent. Since 2015, the proportion of aggravated assaults involving guns rose 69 percent and the share of guns used as weapons in robberies rose 52, posing dramatic risks to law enforcement responding to such incidents. However, rather than supporting commonsense safety measures, Republican candidates Scott Jensen and Jim Schultz are committed to a radical agenda that would only worsen the state’s gun crisis. Jensen, for example, has promised to ban extreme risk protective laws and veto any measure to expand background checks—policies that are proven to reduce gun suicides, lower firearm homicides, and prevent mass shootings.
“Despite Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison’s best efforts, Minnesota Republicans have repeatedly blocked proven, bipartisan solutions to stem gun violence and keep communities safe,” said Jerry Parshall, senior director of CAP Action’s Safety and Justice Campaign. “Minnesotans deserve to feel safe in their communities, yet Jensen and Schultz, if elected governor and attorney general, would make violent crime worse.”
Click here to read: “Fact Sheet: Dangerous Gun Laws in Minnesota”
For additional state fact sheets, see “Dangerous Guns Laws Increase Violent Crime: A State-By-State Analysis”
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Madia Coleman at [email protected].