State Sen. Judy Seeberger says she will back more restrictions on assault-style weapons, a significant shift from the previously undecided swing-district Democrat who could help decide the fate of gun control measures next session.
The DFLer from Afton was one of several moderate legislators who did not publicly say how they would vote on gun control proposals pushed by Gov. Tim Walz after a shooter killed two children and wounded more than two dozen others at Annunciation Catholic Church and School in Minneapolis in August.
Seeberger has since resolved to support “whatever it takes” to make Minnesota safer.
“I’ll be yes on anything and everything that comes through that will really make a difference to reduce gun violence here in the state of Minnesota,” she said in a recent interview.
That includes full bans of assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines as proposed by Walz, she said. Seeberger is scheduled to appear with Walz at a gun violence prevention town hall Monday afternoon in Stillwater.
With tight margins in both the House and Senate, legislators in the political middle, including Seeberger, wield the most power in determining whether gun control measures succeed or fail. Her newfound support for them could help tip the scales and blaze a path for other moderate Democrats to follow in next year’s legislative session.
Her position on guns will also likely be used against her by Republicans who say her positions don’t match her moderate district. Seeberger’s swing seat will be a battleground in Republicans’ quest to win back the state Senate next year.
But Seeberger, a gun-owning, police-supporting St. Croix River Valley native, said her decision is actually a product of bipartisanship — many conversations over recent months with experts, activists of all stripes and constituents. …
But [Sen. Andrew] Lang said Seeberger’s bipartisan rhetoric isn’t matched by her voting record, arguing she tends to voice concerns about major Democratic bills before ultimately voting for them. He cited her 2023 votes for a DFL-backed gun control package, when she argued it would help protect law enforcement officers, and for a sprawling transportation funding bill in 2023 that will raise the gas tax.
“I’ve never seen her break from the party,” Lang said.
— Nathaniel Minor in How one Minnesota swing-district Democrat decided to support an assault-style weapons ban
The DFLer from Afton was one of several moderate legislators who did not publicly say how they would vote on gun control proposals…
There is no such thing as a “moderate” Democrat. Every last one of them will celebrate killing you. They might not be willing to pull the trigger, but they’ll celebrate the person who does.