Rep. Skraba says “Nobody wants to have a special session right now”

Kirsten Wisniewski | October 15, 2025

Over a month after Minnesota Governor Tim Walz announced his desire for a special session of the state legislature to discuss gun violence, state leaders remain at an impasse over the scope of the session, and what options could be on the table.

The call for a special session has been echoed by faith leaders and families impacted by recent gun violence, including the shooting at Annunciation Catholic School, which left two children dead and 21 people injured. Earlier this year another instance of gun violence drew national attention to Minnesota, when former House speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were killed in their home. State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette were also attacked in their home on the same night.

Pushback against a special session

While Walz’s call has had some public support, there has been pushback from some legislators about a special session. DFL Sen. Grant Hauschild, who represents State Senate District 3, told WTIP recently that he is concerned that a special session would not allow for enough time to discuss the issue, especially since a potential ban was not discussed during the most recent legislative session.

On the Republican side, support for a special session is mixed. Some, like District 3A Representative Roger Skraba, have expressed opposition to it. While House Speaker Lisa Demuth specified that she would not agree to passing a gun control bill that has yet to be written, she said in a statement last week that she and other Republicans would be open to a special session, if Walz calls for one.

Skraba told WTIP, “A special session means you need to show up at St Paul and pass something that’s desperately needed.”

Skraba gave an example of the need to provide funding to assist a community dealing with a natural disaster as a reason a special session might be called. He said that he didn’t think a decision would be made in a special session about a topic that the legislature has disagreed about for many years, and instead said it could be discussed during the regular session.

“We can have a discussion in February. We don’t have to spend, take everyone’s day. I mean, both sides. No one wants it, literally. I’m with Democrats this week, and nobody wants to have a special session right now,” Skraba said. “We understand the tragedy, we understand the issue, we understand it. And, you know, both sides don’t want to give in anything, not because of their parties. A lot of it’s our ideology.”

Skraba said he believed that a special session to talk about gun control was most beneficial to Walz. ” The only person that benefits from a special session is the governor. It’s an election year. That’s it. The governor benefits.”

Gun control options being discussed

Demuth and others in her caucus have highlighted mental health and increasing security in schools as their preferred way to address gun violence, while DFL leadership has encouraged legislators to consider banning the sale of assault rifles and high capacity magazines within the state.

Skraba said he did not support a ban on weapons, including assault rifles and high capacity magazines, saying that limiting access to assault rifles opened the door to further limits on gun ownership. “The Second Amendment allows citizens to own and possess weapons. It doesn’t say what kind,” he said.

He compared a ban on assault rifle sales in relation to the rest of the Second Amendment to the idea of flag burning in relation to the First Amendment. He said he doesn’t like that flag burning is legal, but that the First Amendment protects it. He said he wants to avoid any erosion of constitutional rights, saying, “I’m comfortable the way life is right now.”

Skraba went on to argue that access to firearms is not the central problem, instead pointing to mental illness as the cause of gun violence. “The weapon isn’t the problem, it’s the person using it that the problem is,” he said. “Now you could take the train of thought: if they didn’t have it, they wouldn’t be able to use it. No, they’d use a knife, or they’d use a car. They use whatever. You know, if someone is hell bent on hurting people, they’re going to hurt people, period. And it’s not the weapon that they use to hurt people, it’s themselves.”

“If I want to own an AR-15 or if I want to own a high capacity round, why does that bother you or anyone because I own it? Why should a law prevent me from owning and possessing that?” Skraba said, adding that unless a firearm is used in a crime, there should not be a law preventing their ownership. “That’s that’s not what it’s meant for. It’s not meant for crime.”

Looking forward

Whether Walz calls a special session or not, the topic of gun control will likely be a theme for the legislature during the next year. With both chambers seeing a nearly equal split, any efforts to address gun violence will need bipartisan support. Skraba said he imagines that both increased mental health services and better school security will be appealing to both sides, but he added that disagreement over how to pay for those measures could arise.

WTIP’s Kirsten Wisniewski spoke with Rep. Roger Skraba about the ongoing consideration from the governor and call from some voters to hold a special session to address gun violence. Audio of that interview is below.