Minnesota physicians are pressing state lawmakers to address gun violence following the deadly August 27th mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church.
"We're sending a direct and clear message to our legislators that the physicians of Minnesota want action, and we want action now," says Dr. Laurel Ries who is the immediate past president of the Minnesota Medical Association.
That group, which along with four other physician advocacy organizations, sent Governor Tim Walz a letter asking that he call for a special session to address firearm violence. Walz has said he is planning for one, which would include a proposed ban on assault weapons, and has reached out to legislators on both sides of the aisle to prepare for one.
"As physicians, it's our goal to minimize deaths and injuries," says Ries. "It's our job."
They're calling for a statewide ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, a safe-storage law, and for municipalities to be able to enact stricter firearm regulations than the state.
Ries says the suffering doesn't end for communities impact by gun violence.
"We need to put an end to these injuries and stop them whenever we can," she says.
Ries says giving local municipalities the ability to enact stricter firearm regulations than the state could be a good start, knowing the difficulties with a political divide in the state.
"If we can protect children in one municipality when others aren't interested in doing that, we want to protect the children we can," says Ries. "One of the things that you'll hear a lot in this conversation is people say we're never going to fix all of these deaths. But I would argue that if we keep one child alive, it's worth it."
There's no timing for when - or even if - Walz would call a special session. Republicans in Minnesota, along with the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, have shown an openness to address gun safety but have pushed back on full bans of any sort of assault-style weapons.