Democrats are absolutely convinced that gun control led to big wins in November. While I don’t doubt that it played a factor in some races, I tend to dispute the idea of any big wins. Instead, I argue that those gains were in keeping with historic trends for midterm elections and have little to do with the issue of guns.

But, Democrats don’t listen to me, so whatever.

In Minnesota, the governor seems to believe that big wins resulted from going out on a limb on gun control, and he’s offering up his support for increased background checks and a new red flag law.

Hours after being sworn in as Minnesota’s 41st governor, Tim Walz reiterated his support for a pair of gun control bills favored by Democratic lawmakers.

At a news conference before a reception in the Capitol Rotunda celebrating his inauguration, Walz said smart gun laws can protect people from violence without infringing on Second Amendment rights.

“Those are not mutually exclusive goals,” the new Democratic governor said.

The Legislature reconvenes at noon Tuesday and advocates on both sides of the gun issue are expected to make their presence felt in St. Paul.

Democrats have said they plan to quickly reintroduce measures that failed to get traction last year — increased background checks and so-called “red flag” laws that allow police to take guns from people deemed dangerous.

Republicans in the state have opposed both measures, and for good reason.

Universal background checks–the only real way to “increase” them–aren’t shown to have any appreciable impact on crimes committed with guns. Even if they did, they wouldn’t have an impact on crime as a whole, and if I lose a loved one, does anyone care if they were stabbed rather than shot?

No, they don’t.

Red flag laws are extremely controversial and while they might look like a good idea, what may well happen is that people will be punished for having wrong opinions and also having the temerity to express those opinions. There are a lot of people out there who think anyone who owns guns and is willing to use them to defend their lives represents a danger. How hard is it to imagine one of these people using a red flag law to disarm someone?

I get the idea. Temporarily taking someone’s guns if they’re unhinged sure sounds good, but it’s not working that way. We’ve already seen one person die because they didn’t want to give up their guns reportedly over someone else’s fearmongering. I can’t say that I blame them.

Regardless, these laws won’t do what Walz and his allies think it will.

Instead, it’ll  make lawmakers feel good, let them tell their constituents that they’re making a stand, and the bad people of the world will go on doing bad things, and they will have accomplished nothing except hurt law-abiding citizens.

Good job, guys. What’s your encore? Trying to ban forks because people are getting fatter?