Security panel to tackle question of guns, metal detectors at Minnesota Capitol

Nathaniel Minor, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Aug 20, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

MINNEAPOLIS — Guns and metal detectors at the state Capitol could become a sticking point this fall among members of a committee that advises lawmakers on security issues.

The committee, which includes a handful of legislators, Supreme Court Justice Natalie Hudson and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan met Wednesday for the first time since former DFL Leader Melissa Hortman and her husband were shot and killed in June.

While the Advisory Committee on Capitol Security did not make any recommendations on Wednesday, comments from its members suggest that whether to add weapons screening systems will be a key question for them to work through in the coming months.

“I personally favor weapon screening systems as well as more cameras and bag checks, but I know that I am just one vote on this committee,” Flanagan said during the meeting.

Minnesota is one of about 10 states that don’t require security screening to enter the building, such as metal detectors or X-ray machines. Under current law, Minnesotans with a permit to carry can bring a gun inside the Capitol complex.

Flanagan’s comments echo those of Gov. Tim Walz, who said over the summer that the Legislature should consider banning guns at the Capitol.

The committee will meet more regularly than it has recently, Flanagan said, and work toward making a set of recommendations to the Legislature. Any updates the panel recommends that require funding or a change in state law must be approved by lawmakers, who don’t return for session until February.

Hudson noted the Judicial Center is the only building on the Capitol grounds that has metal detectors and credited that with helping visitors, staff and others feel more secure in that building.

“The Minnesota Capitol is often called the People’s House, and no one believes that more than I do,” she said. “But I also believe that the time has come in 2025 to rethink how the People’s House operates.”

Security at the Capitol complex has been under renewed scrutiny in recent months following the assassination of the Hortmans. State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman, where also shot in their homes but survived their injuries. The alleged shooter, Vance Boelter, is in federal custody on charges in those incidents.

Other recent events have intensified the concerns about safety around the Capitol complex. Days after the shootings, a registered lobbyist was charged with “threats of violence” that included the Capitol. The meeting also comes after a naked man was found in the Senate chambers in July and arrested after subsequently returning to the building multiple times.

Sen. Bonnie Westlin, a Democrat, called for committee members to have a discussion about potential security changes, including weapons screenings, “with an open mind.”

But the two Republican legislators who sit on the committee, Sen. Warren Limmer and Rep. Jim Nash, both appeared to be skeptical of weapons screening systems.

“I’d like to caution the committee not to be lulled into a false sense of security by using technology alone,” Limmer told the group. “This goes far deeper than just the physical aspect of products that a number of corporations will want to sell the state of Minnesota.”

Nash said the committee should not infringe on constitutional rights but instead weigh security concerns with the need to keep the Capitol open to visitors.

“We owe it to Minnesota to do a good job and find the balance,” he said.

Nash also called on the Legislature to fund the security recommendations the advisory committee makes the next time around, noting that it has not done so in the past.

State officials have said the Capitol building is wired for metal detectors. It’s also possible that lawmakers could fund new metal detectors while also continuing to allow guns.

“There’s a number of options that I think would be available,” Bob Jacobson, commissioner of the Department of Public Safety, said after the meeting. “I’m just excited that we’re having the discussion.”

The Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus is advocating against limiting guns at the Capitol for those who have permits to carry, arguing it’s already a crime to carry a firearm at the Capitol without a permit.

“If weapons screening is implemented, Minnesota should follow the approach of Texas and other states and allow permit holders to bypass the screening and continue to carry firearms for self-defense,” Bryan Strawser, chair of the caucus wrote in a comment to the committee.

The committee received about 200 comments from members of the public that also stated opposition to limiting firearms at the Capitol.

Officials with the Department of Public Safety also gave the committee a rundown of changes it has made in recent months, including the commissioning of a new third-party security assessment that is expected by year’s end, a reduction of the number of public entrances to the Capitol building and the hiring of additional staff.

----------