Parents of slain Annunciation student pressure Speaker Demuth to allow gun bill to move in the House

Nathaniel Minor, Star Tribune on May 10, 2026

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Last September, Mike Moyski and Jackie Flavin opened their Minneapolis home’s door to the most consequential person in a crusade that, just weeks before, they did not know they’d be leading.

The cause was violence prevention, which they took up after their 10-year-old daughter, Harper, was killed in a hail of gunfire while attending a back-to-school Mass at the Annunciation Catholic Church and School in August 2025.

The person was GOP House Speaker Lisa Demuth, whose support is crucial for any bill in the tightly divided Minnesota Legislature. While Moyski and Flavin were not advocating for any specific legislative package at the time, they did want to know if Demuth, a gun rights supporter, would block a hypothetical ban on assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazine from reaching the floor.

“Our ask was, ‘Would you allow this to go to the floor?’ And her answer was yes,” Moyski told the Minnesota Star Tribune last week.

Now, months later, a real bill has landed at Demuth’s desk, but she has not yet allowed it to move forward. Moyski and other Annunciation parents are pushing Demuth to let that happen as the final days of the 2026 session tick away.

The DFL-controlled Senate last week passed a 46-page package that includes bans on assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines, more funding for school security and mental health care, and several other provisions.

But all significant gun control attempts in the House, which is tied 67 to 67 between Republicans and Democrats, have failed to advance. Republicans have argued that sweeping bans on assault-style weapons would be unconstitutional and ineffective, and have instead pushed funding for mental health resources and school security.

Even that effort, which has bipartisan support, has become mired in details over whether the state should fund private school security and other points.

Still, House Democrats have been pressuring Demuth to allow the Senate bill to proceed in the House. Its likely path would take it first through a committee, in which it could very well fail, then to the floor. During a Thursday evening floor session, DFL Floor Leader Jamie Long asked about the status of the Senate bill.

“We’ve received it, but I’ve been instructed not to report it,” GOP Rep. Bjorn Olson said as he filled in as speaker while Demuth was away from the floor. He added: “It’s the speaker’s prerogative to report the bill.”

Reporting the bill would be its first procedural step in the House. House Democrats have since criticized Demuth of “holding the bill hostage.” Moyski also provided the Star Tribune with a September 2025 email they sent to Demuth that thanked the speaker for saying she “would not block a vote.”

Asked for comment on Moyski’s claims, a House GOP spokesperson said, “The Speaker has been clear that the bill would have to move through the committee process to the floor — which it has not done in the Minnesota House.”

“House Republicans remain committed and continue to fight for school safety legislation that will protect Minnesota students,” the spokesperson said.

According to one of Demuth aides, the House has yet to take up several lengthy bills that have cleared the Senate.

Flavin sent two more emails last week to Demuth asking her to allow the Senate bill to move through the House, but Moyski said Demuth has not responded.

Moyski also shared those with the Star Tribune.

“You may disagree with parts of the Senate package and we support your right to do so,” Flavin wrote to Demuth on Friday. “But refusing to even engage the bill while also offering no alternative path forward is not leadership.”

The session’s end comes as Demuth, a candidate for governor, is also courting Republican Party activists’ support in her bid to win the GOP endorsement. Many of those delegates largely oppose gun control.

Last month, before the Senate passed its bill, GOP Whip Rep. Jim Nash told the Star Tribune that Demuth’s run for governor has not affected her work in the House.

“I don’t see any conflict at all,” he said.

A few dozen Annunciation parents and students gathered Saturday evening on all four corners of a busy intersection near the school in a hastily organized demonstration to encourage Demuth to allow the Senate bill to move forward.

“Let the people vote,” Kacie Sharpe, who has two kids at Annunciation, said as cars honked in support. “A majority of Minnesotans want more gun reform, but this package is very comprehensive. It’s not just about guns or magazine size. It’s about increasing school safety, increasing help for mental health. It’s much more than just an assault weapons ban.”

“It’s really disrespectful to not even let it come up for a vote – and she holds that power,” Sharpe said. “It’s not even democratic. At least let it come up for a vote. That’s how democracy works.”

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(Star Tribune reporters Reid Forgrave and Amanda Anderson contributed to this story.)

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