Legislative Update - Remembering Annunciation

Dear Neighbors, 

Prior to Operation Metro Surge, much of the news last fall looking ahead to this year’s legislative session was focused on gun violence prevention measures. Last summer started with the murder of the Hortmans and the shooting of the Hoffmans, and ended with the tragedy at Annunciation Catholic School.

On the morning of August 27, during school Mass, a shooter fired through a stained-glass window, shooting 26 children and killing 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moyski.

This week, the Annunciation community came to the State Capitol.

Fletcher and Harper’s desks sat in a Capitol hallway this week, with dozens more lined up outside, symbolizing the more than 200 children killed by gun violence since 2021. These desks were here to serve as an important reminder as a handful of gun violence prevention and school safety bills were heard in committees this week. 

In the House Public Safety Committee, we heard two bills focused on curbing gun violence and preventing another tragedy - a ban on semiautomatic military-style assault weapons, and a ban on large-capacity ammunition magazines.

Please take a minute to watch Harper's mom call us to action to ban the weapons of war that were used to take her child and so many others. No parent should ever have to give this testimony, and every legislator should feel compelled to listen and act accordingly.

Every Republican voted no on both bills.

Outside of the Capitol, this isn’t a partisan issue. More than 65% of Minnesotans support a ban on these weapons of war. We will continue to push for action, and push for a vote where every legislator must answer a very simple question: will you choose to protect our kids or the gun lobby?

Fighting Fraud

Make no mistake, fraud at any level, at any amount in government is abhorrent. An incredible amount of time and effort has gone into ensuring state dollars are used to lift up our most vulnerable, and when those dollars are misused or stolen, it’s an affront to all Minnesotans. 

Again, this shouldn’t be a partisan issue – it certainly isn’t for regular folks. This week, my colleagues and I in the House DFL unveiled our package of legislation aimed at combating fraud, including my bill to establish a Consumer Protection Fraud Bureau. These are actual solutions aimed at helping Minnesotans while protecting tax dollars. 

Governor Walz announced his own, similar package of fraud-fighting measures, all of which were unveiled as the Trump administration decided to freeze Medicaid funding to our state. 

Only by working together can we address fraud. My hope is that we can work together to pass these important bills this session.

In partnership, 

Michael Howard