After multiple mass shootings, including school shootings, then-Rep. Tim Walz changed his views about some of the most controversial gun laws back in 2017. Now, as Kamala Harris’ running mate, his strong stance on gun safety has drawn ire from the NRA.
As he has in other policy areas, Walz has taken more liberal positions on guns and gun control during his time as governor of Minnesota than he did during his six terms in the House.
For 12 years, from 2007 to 2019, Walz represented a conservative district that borders Iowa to the south. An Army National Guard veteran and avid hunter, Walz was listed by “Guns and Ammo” in its list of “top 20 politicians for gun owners” in 2016.
But Minnesota as a whole leans blue, something reflected in Walz’s positions as a gubernatorial candidate and governor.
From an “A” to an “F” from the NRA
Walz received “A” ratings from the National Rifle Association in his 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016 congressional reelection races. But he received an “F” rating from the NRA during his 2018 gubernatorial race, according to the gun control group Everytown for Gun Safety. Walz has spoken publicly about how his NRA rating slipped through the years.
“It’s true. I’m a veteran, a hunter, and a gun owner,” Walz tweeted in July. “But I’m also a dad. And for many years, I was a teacher. It’s about keeping our kids safe. I had an A rating from the NRA. Now I get straight F’s. And I sleep just fine.”
Randy Kozuch, chairman of the NRA Political Victory Fund, said Walz is a “political chameleon — changing his positions to further his own personal agenda.”
“In Congress, Walz purported to be a friend of gun owners to receive their support in his rural Minnesota district,” Kozuch said. “Once he had his eyes set on other offices, he sold out law-abiding Minnesotans and promoted a radical gun control agenda that emboldened criminals and left everyday citizens defenseless. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz cannot be trusted to defend freedom and our constitutional rights.”
The Las Vegas mass shooting
After the 2017 mass shooting at a music festival in Las Vegas, the deadliest in modern U.S. history, Walz said he donated his campaign contributions from the NRA, $18,000, to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes fund, a charity that helps families of service members who were injured or killed.
“As a member of Congress, I support universal background check legislation, oppose conceal and carry legislation before Congress, and oppose legislation to reduce restrictions on gun silencers,” Walz wrote on Facebook after the Vegas shooting that occurred during his bid for governor. “As governor of Minnesota, I will work to ensure that Minnesota passes universal background check legislation. I will support increased funding for mental health services and support additional restrictions that ensure that Minnesota keeps guns out of the hands of dangerous people.”
A few months later, after yet another mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, Walz voiced support for an assault weapons ban.
Writing in the Star Tribune at the time, he said: “I’ve listened hard to students, parents, law enforcement, teachers, sportsmen and survivors of gun violence, in every corner of Minnesota. And while they have different perspectives, I’ve heard them all say one thing loud and clear: This. Needs. To. Stop.”
Walz has framed background checks and red-flag policies as common-sense safeguards that don’t contradict the Second Amendment.
John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, said Walz is “living proof that responsible gun ownership and support for common-sense gun safety laws go hand-in-hand.”
“Over the last decade, he’s joined countless other gun owners in rejecting an increasingly extreme gun lobby’s lie that says basic gun safety laws are incompatible with the Second Amendment,” Feinblatt said. “From signing a sweeping package of gun safety bills to donating past NRA contributions to an organization for his fellow veterans, Governor Walz has proven that he’s not afraid to stand up to the gun lobby.”
Anna Schecter is the senior coordinating producer for CBS News and Stations’ Crime and Public Safety Unit, based in New York.
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