A key Minnesota Senate committee in St. Paul pushed a slate of gun and school safety measures forward on Friday, backing new money for school safety specialists and clearing several other bills for their next round of scrutiny. The package marks the Legislature’s most visible push of the year on gun policy, from a proposed ban on unserialized "ghost" firearms to tweaks in how officials review expunged records tied to firearm eligibility.
The Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee hearing turned into a marathon session packed with emotional testimony from parents, survivors and other witnesses as lawmakers looked on, according to MPR News. Photo coverage from the scene showed Sen. Ron Latz listening as people cycled through the witness table, underscoring how the hearing has become a magnet for advocates on both sides of the debate.
According to official committee records, senators voted to recommend Senate File 3648, an appropriation to add school safety specialists, to pass and referred it to the Committee on Finance. They also recommended Senate File 3929 to pass after testimony. Other measures were either laid over or set for more hearings, including SF 3661, described in the bill index as prohibiting the sale and possession of ghost guns. The Minnesota Senate committee bill index records those actions on March 13, 2026, and lays out the next procedural steps for each file.
What the bills would do
The measures combine fresh spending with targeted statutory changes. The school safety bill would fund additional specialists at the Minnesota School Safety Center. The ghost gun proposal would criminalize the possession and transfer of unserialized firearms. Other bills aim to clarify when law enforcement can access certain records to check whether someone is eligible to own a gun.
Senate Judiciary Chair Ron Latz has described this set of moves as a top priority for the session, including closing what supporters call the ghost gun loophole and pursuing bans on assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines, according to a release from the Senate DFL caucus.
Lawmakers and advocates
Parents, survivors and gun safety advocates filled the hearing room and urged lawmakers to move quickly, while opponents warned of unintended consequences and practical enforcement problems, according to MPR News. The tone of the testimony reflected years of high-profile shootings that have turned school safety into a recurring flashpoint at the Capitol.
Outlook at the Capitol
Despite the committee’s action, the fate of major gun restrictions remains uncertain in a closely divided Legislature with plenty of competing priorities. Similar debates last year sent leaders into difficult negotiations and produced narrow votes, as described in earlier coverage of state leaders’ responses to recent shootings. That history looms over this year’s effort and signals that sponsors will have to navigate multiple committees, floor votes and likely amendments before any sweeping measures can reach the governor’s desk.
Next steps
Some of the bills are now parked in the Committee on Finance, while others are scheduled for additional hearings in the coming days, giving authors time to tweak language and look for cross-party support. Committee records detail the dates and referrals, and supporters say they plan to keep pressing the package through the session as negotiations continue under the Capitol dome.
