A Minnesota gun control activist told a group of supporters this week that one of the reasons Republican lawmakers in the state aren't joining Democrats in supporting a ban on so-called assault weapons and large capacity magazines is that they're being threatened by gun owners.
The Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus shared audio of Kathleen Anderson responding to a question about why no GOP legislator has signed on to the gun and magazine ban bills being pushed by Gov. Tim Walz, most DFL lawmakers, and gun control groups.
Kathleen Anderson, Protect Minnesota's Director of Outreach and a Moms Demand Action volunteer leader, claimed last night that MN Republicans won't back gun control because gun owners are threatening to kill them.
— MN Gun Owners Caucus (@mnguncaucus) April 24, 2026
This is how they talk about 2.5 million peaceable Minnesotans.… pic.twitter.com/PDDIHeHeGC
If Anderson has spoken directly to any Republican who claims to have been subjected to threats of violence or death if they back a gun ban, she should out them by name. And if any Republican has received threats like this, they should go public as well.
Making a death threat to a lawmaker in order to "keep them in line" or because they didn't vote the way you wanted them to is a criminal offense and should be treated as such.
Anderson, however, didn't name any names, and no GOP representative or senator in the Minnesota statehouse has said a word about being threatened with harm if they go along with the Democrats' gun ban plans, at least not that I've been able to find.
There was a Minnesotan back in 2022 who was charged with one count of threatening to murder a federal official and one count of interstate transmission of a threat after leaving voicemail messages for an unnamed senator outside the state of Minnesota. He received a year in federal prison as a result. But Anderson can't have been referring to this guy because she was specifically talking about this session.
Of course, that wasn't the only explanation Anderson gave for why no GOP lawmaker has signed on to the DFL's sweeping gun and magazine ban legislation. Anderson also listed a "further fear of restrictions and controls," "the money," and the "fear of losing power and losing elections" as well.
One possibility that Anderson is apparently unwilling to consider is that these lawmakers think it's unconstitutional to ban commonly-owned firearms that are used for a variety of lawful purposes; that they legitimately believe the gun control bills being pushed this session would violate our Second Amendment rights. She came close when she mentioned a fear of further restrictions and controls, but even that language suggests that she believes no Republican views the current gun control package as an infringement on our right to keep and bear arms.
There very well may be some Republicans in the Minnesota statehouse who might be inclined to sign on to a gun and magazine ban were it not for the fact that it would tank their political career, but the same is true of Democrat-Farmer-Labor legislators when it comes to their support for gun control. That's just a political reality; some politicians will suppress their own views because they don't align with what they believe a majority of their constituents want.
For Anderson, though, there is no legitimate reason to object to criminalizing the purchase of some of the most popular firearms in the country. According to her worldview, any politician who does so must have their own self-interest or self-preservation at heart. I wish she'd actually sit down and talk with some of the lawmakers she's bashing, but based on her remarks I'm not sure she's capable of having an actual conversation with those she disagrees with.
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