ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN

By VFPchapter27 Campaigns

Position: Chapter 27 Veterans For Peace supports a statewide ban on the sale and transfer of assault weapons and high capacity magazines.

Brief history of our work:
- Meeting with legislators:
  - Commitments of support: Since 2018, we have obtained commitments of support for the ban from 41 of the 46 legislators who met with us.
  - “Target” legislators: We identified 22 “target” legislators who were moderate, represent swing districts, or had announced they were not seeking reelection. We are still seeking meetings with some of these legislators.
- Research (see below access to reports):
  - Position Paper: We developed a two-page, fact-rich Position Paper and delivered it to a total of 117 legislators from both parties.
  - Support for a State Ban on Assault Weapons and High-Capacity Magazines: We prepared a 13-page paper that contains the most relevant information regarding both sides of the issue.

Analysis of the proposed bill by Minnesota Senator Zaynab Mohamed: We prepared a paper that described the positions of the opponents of a state ban, analyzed Sen. Mohamed’s assault weapons ban bill, and included six changes to minimize the bill’s impact on law-abiding assault weapon owners while maximizing its ability to restrict access to these weapons for potential mass shooters. We shared this analysis with the 22 ”target” legislators.

- Collaboration with other groups and efforts to get cities involved:
  - We have joined the other common-sense gun control groups for 19 rallies, hearings, and press conferences at the Minnesota Capitol.
  - We collaborated with other common-sense gun law groups to help 4 cities adopt resolutions and ordinances in support of assault weapon bans.
What you can do: Using the information in the below reports and analyses, we suggest all Minnesotans do the following:
- Write your state legislators: Tell them to support bills that ban the sale and transfer of assault weapons. You can find “Who represents me?” at https://www.leg.mn.gov.
- Connect with your local governments: We can help you work with your local government officials to adopt an official resolution in support of a state ban on assault weapons.
Analyses and reports: