Senate File 4067 contained Senator Kunesh’s bill to appropriate $20 million in safety aid for Minnesota schools
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Today, the Minnesota Senate passed Senate File 4067, a comprehensive bill to address gun violence in Minnesota, which focuses on reducing the prevalence of weapons of war on Minnesota’s streets, strengthening mental health support, and keeping students safe in school. SF 4067 was passed on a party line vote of 34-33, and was sent to the Minnesota House.
Included in the package is Senate File 5000, a bill authored by Senator Mary Kunesh (DFL-New Brighton) which allocates $20 million in school safety aid for Minnesota’s public and nonpublic schools, in order to help harden schools and keep students out of harm’s way.
Some of the other provisions contained within the legislation include:
- Assault weapons ban at point of sale
- A ban on large capacity magazines over 17 rounds
- $20 million in school safety aid for every school in Minnesota
- Creating an Extreme Risk Protection Order public awareness campaign
- Funding for the Violence Prevention Project to inform gun violence prevention
- $2.7 million in school-linked behavioral health grants to support early intervention
- Helping schools to establish anonymous threat reporting systems
- A ban on binary triggers, which increase the rate of fire
- Banning untraceable “ghost guns”
- Limiting circumstances in which firearms are permitted on school property
“Minnesota’s students and families should never have to worry about their own safety, no matter where they are,” said Senator Kunesh. “I’m thankful for the inclusion of my school safety aid funding, because it’s a major piece of our holistic approach to gun violence prevention. No singular bill will solve all gun violence, but with the evidence-based pieces in this package, we’re taking decisive action to keep Minnesotans safe from gun violence. The number one cause of death for young people in our country is firearms; it’s clear to me that we cannot keep our children safe without addressing guns. I’m proud of the Senate DFL’s work on these proposals. It’s now up to House Republicans to pass it into law.”
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