Senate Republican Leader Mark Johnson (East Grand Forks) released the following statement in response to Democrats press conference that proposed no real solutions to keeping kids safe or stopping violent crime:

“Executive action to study and educate the public on gun safety are not actual solutions to keeping kids safe in school. Addressing mental health, intervening before a crisis turns violent, and active safety protocols are real solutions that Republicans support to keep our kids safe. Governor Walz signed a bill to release violent criminals from prison, and he's overwhelmed school budgets with unfunded mandates that put politics ahead of academics in our schools and curriculum. Democrats voted to remove one of the best tools to keep kids safe, school resource officers, and then took months, to fix their mistake.

“The actions today will do nothing to actually keep people safe, but the bills and policies from Minnesota Democrats are actively putting the public’s safety at risk every day.”