Tim Walz once received an “A” grade from the NRA; then shot left

Vice President Kamala Harris's presidential running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, was once a champion of Second Amendment rights during his time in the U.S. House, but quickly abandoned his political position during his campaign for governor.

Walz represented Minnesota's 1st District in the House from 2007 to 2018, earning “A” ratings and donations from the National Rifle Association (NRA). seconds in Forbes. During his 2018 gubernatorial campaign, he began to change his gun policy, and when he became governor in 2019, he passed several gun control measures in Minnesota, receiving an “F” rating from the NRA during his campaign as a result. seconds in the New York Times.

“Walz is a political shape-shifter,” Rob Doar, senior vice president of government affairs for the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, told the DCNF. “When he was representing Minnesota's first district, he stood up for the Second Amendment because that's what he had to be to win, and soon after he campaigned for governor, he started to move away from Second Amendment charges.”

In 2010, the NRA endorsed Walz for his advocacy of gun rights, seconds to an NRA press release. Walz welcomed the endorsement, using his military service and education to underscore his alleged Second Amendment conviction.

“I grew up hunting and spent 24 years in the Army National Guard,” Walz said according to the NRA press release. “I know how important Second Amendment rights are to the people of southern Minnesota. I am proud to stand with the NRA to protect our Second Amendment rights, and I am truly grateful for their support.” .

Walz was a sponsor of the Sportsmen's Heritage and Recreational Improvement Act of 2014 in the House, which expanded access to federal lands for hunters as well as protection for commonly used types of ammunition and fishing equipment . seconds to the National Shooting Sports Foundation. The act also allowed for greater use of the Pittman-Robertson funds, which are assigned for wildlife preservation under the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937, on projects related to hunting and public shooting ranges.

However, Walz's tune changed to the Second Amendment during his run for governor of Minnesota in 2018, when he had a weaker platform than the relatively strict policies of Erin Murphy, who was endorsed by incumbent Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton and the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, seconds in the Twin Cities. Eventually I would commit to to stricter gun control policy when facing Murphy in the Democratic primary.

Walz wrote one op-ed in 2018 in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune advocating for an assault weapons ban and other gun control measures in the wake of the 2018 Parkland High School shooting that killed 17 and injured 17 in Parkland , Florida. He also pledged to donate the $18,000 he received from the NRA to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, a nonprofit organization for veterans.

“I will fight to pass universal background checks, something the Legislature has been unable or unwilling to do for too many years,” Walz told the editorial. “I will fight for the Gun Violence Protection Order that would allow family members or the police to ask a court to prevent someone from having firearms if that person poses a significant danger. We will fund public inquiry into gun violence. We will have a honest discussion about mental health without stigmatizing people. And after listening a lot to Minnesotans, I support an assault weapons ban.”

Walz signed a controversial “red flag law” in 2023 that gives the state the right to confiscate guns from people with a “high risk of harming themselves or others with a firearm” . seconds to a news release from the governor's office. Pro-Second Amendment groups such as the United States Concealed Carry Association (USCCA) and the NRA they argue that the laws strip firearm owners of due process rights, with people often not informed of the seizure order and that criminal charges are not necessary for their guns to be at risk.

“In red flag law cases, the government can, on its own and often without the defendant even being aware of the proceedings, take steps to determine whether that person should continue to have the right to own those firearms.” , the USCCA said in 2023. “Under red flag laws, a person who has committed no crime can have their guns confiscated, apparently in violation of the constitutional right to due process.”

In May, Walz signed the omnibus bill HF 5247, which banned “binary triggers” starting Jan. 1, 2025, which allow a shot to be fired after the trigger is released and pulled normally. seconds on the invoice The bill is currently under litigation from UnitedHealthcare, which alleges the government passed the bill without adequate time for lawmakers to consider the legislation. seconds in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

“The problem with Walz is you can't trust what he says,” Doar said. “He claims to be a gun owner and a hunter, but he will fully subscribe to and approve the extreme gun control proposals that anti-gun politicians will put forward. I just don't think he can be trusted to protect the rights of the Second Amendment.”

Walz's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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