Sen. Grant Hauschild, DFL-Hermantown. Photo by Senate Media Services.
A pair of newly elected, greater Minnesota Democratic senators could thwart their party’s drive for gun control this year despite full control of state government — and a rising body count from a ceaseless string of mass shootings around the country, most recently at Michigan State University.
Demonstrators are expected to crowd the state Capitol’s halls on Thursday, with state officials and advocates proclaiming this is the year lawmakers finally pass stricter gun control measures.
Bills are moving through House committees, but any bill must get through the 34-33 Senate, which means Sens. Robert Kupec of Moorhead and Grant Hauschild of Hermantown each hold the power of a de facto veto over any legislation — and their constituents are letting them know it.
Among the four bills DFL lawmakers are considering: a mandate for safe firearm storage; expanded background checks to sales beyond just licensed gun dealers; a “red flag” law to seize guns from people deemed dangerous; and a requirement that gun owners promptly notify law enforcement if their firearms are stolen.
The bills have deep-pocketed and well-organized advocates and opponents. Gov. Tim Walz, who was once a strong ally of the National Rifle Association, has vowed to sign gun control legislation.
Kupec, a meteorologist from Moorhead, told the Reformer that he hasn’t had time to dig into the four gun control bills. He said he’s still talking to his constituents about gun control and hasn’t yet decided whether he is supportive of it. Moorhead is a college town, so his constituents reared in the era of mass shootings could be passionate about reducing gun violence. For advocates counting votes, however, Kupec would not seem to be in the ‘yay’ column.
Hauschild’s status is also uncertain, and both sides seem to view him as the deciding gun control vote. The former Hermantown City Council member is keeping his opinions about gun control close. Hauschild told MinnPost last year on the campaign trail that he was “not somebody that is favorable towards major gun control issues.”
In a statement to the Reformer, Hauschild said he grew up hunting with his family and knows that many people in northern Minnesota want “common sense ways to reduce gun violence.”
“I’m taking time to meet with law enforcement, stakeholders and constituents in my district to hear their concerns and determine how we move forward,” Hauschild said. “Pressure on me from outside groups on either side will not determine my position; thoughtful conversations with my constituents will.”
Hauschild, whose office is adjacent to Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic and has a background as a political operative, has good reason to be reticent. He won his election last fall by about 700 votes out of 43,000 cast.
A 2022 MinnPost poll surveyed over 1,500 Minnesotans and found the majority of them were in favor of stronger gun laws, though their answer largely depended on their politics.
Senate Democrats’ one-seat majority has remained unified throughout the six weeks of session so far, even on contentious subjects — passing bills codifying the right to abortion and mandating utilities transition to carbon-free energy by 2040. Gun control could be where that solidarity stops.
The Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus is running ads in Hauschild’s Minnesota district, urging people to call his office and vote down gun control.
“Call Sen. Grant Hauschild … and tell him to take guns away from criminals and stop attacking law-abiding citizens like you,” says the voice in the ad, which repeats Hauschild’s office number twice.
The Gun Owners Caucus will also run digital and direct mail ads and go door-knocking in his district.
“The residents of Sen. Hauschild’s district are passionate about their right to keep and bear their arms, and the legislators they’ve sent to represent them have reflected that, regardless of party affiliation,” said Rob Doar, senior vice president for the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus.
Hauschild’s predecessor in District 3, which spans a huge area of northeastern Minnesota, is former state Sen. Tom Bakk, who was the DFL Senate leader for nearly a decade before leaving the caucus in 2020.
Bakk was endorsed by the National Rifle Association. He supported concealed carry laws and was cautious about passing background checks. Bakk served as majority leader the last time Democrats had a trifecta in 2013-14, when Democrats failed to enact gun control legislation even after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Explaining the dilemma of wavering Democrats, Bakk said: “I’ll tell you this. I had 39 Democrats in the Senate in 2013 and we knew we couldn’t swing it,” Bakk said in a 2019 Pioneer Press article.
Gun control advocates in Hauschild’s district are hopeful he will vote for the measures, noting the impact of gun violence just since the last Democratic trifecta.
Gun deaths in Minnesota have hit a 20-year high, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Roughly two-thirds of all gun deaths are suicides. Nearly 60% of gun suicides happen in greater Minnesota, according to CDC data.
Joan Peterson, chair of the Northland Brady Chapter of Protect Minnesota, a greater Minnesota anti-gun violence group, said in an interview that the increased number of mass shootings has made supporting gun control less likely to end a politician’s career.
“If we don’t make efforts to keep guns away from people who shouldn’t have them, then we are putting everybody at risk — our students, our families,” Peterson said. “So I’m hoping that people understand that they don’t have to be afraid of losing their election over this issue.”
At this point, it’s not clear if Kupec and Hauschild agree.
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website. AP and Getty images may not be republished. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of any other photos and graphics.
