If there’s one thing the anti-gun crowd can be counted on to do, it’s to exploit tragedy. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is the latest to seize the moment, using the recent horrific attacks on state lawmakers as a pretext to push gun control by turning the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul into a so-called “gun-free zone.” 

"I think there's going to be a conversation, and this will be a broader one, in the legislature and with us of what we can do to provide that kind of security. I think the conversation will come up at the Capitol. I made no bones about it that I think it's inappropriate that we carry firearms in the Capitol, and I think we have to reassess that," Walz said.

We’ve seen this movie before. We all know it won’t end well.

We all agree that the shocking murder of Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, as well as the attempted assassination of Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, are appalling crimes. Vance Boelter, the former Walz appointee who committed this heinous act, will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. But instead of focusing on punishing the actual perpetrators, Walz is aiming his fire at law-abiding citizens of Minnesota—people who had nothing to do with these heinous acts. And as per usual, this change, had it been in place weeks ago, would have done nothing to protect the Hortmans or the Hoffmans.

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Right now, the State Capitol allows visitors to carry firearms if they have a valid permit. Lawmakers and staff, too, can exercise their constitutional rights. But Walz, who apparently fancies himself a contender for the 2028 Democratic Party nomination for president, needs to shore up anti-gun credentials, and disarming everyone in the Capitol will somehow make it safer. The reality? It will only guarantee that the next would-be killer targeting lawmakers faces zero resistance.

This isn’t just naïve; it’s reckless. Disarming the law-abiding won’t stop the next criminal who’s determined to do harm. All it does is create a soft target—a building full of potential victims and no one able to defend themselves.

And it wasn’t all that long ago that Walz was running for vice president, pretending to be an advocate of gun rights.

If Walz were serious about security, he’d propose real measures: armed guards, metal detectors, and secured entrances. However, simply prohibiting guns and relying on luck is not a viable strategy—it's merely a wishful notion, and it sends the message to next would-be assassin that the State Capitol is a soft target.

This is the same tired playbook we see every time there’s a tragedy. The impulse to “do something” is understandable, but stripping rights from responsible citizens is never the answer. If anything, now is the time to double down on self-defense. Maybe it’s time for lawmakers and their staff to sign up for concealed carry classes—because the right to protect oneself shouldn’t be up for debate, and it certainly shouldn’t be sacrificed on the altar of feel-good politics.

Governor Walz’s proposal won’t end well. It won’t make anyone safer. It will only embolden those who don’t care about laws in the first place, while leaving those he claims to want to protect defenseless. 

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