Before becoming governor, Walz represented a rural district in Minnesota in Congress, where he developed a pro-gun rights record that earned him “A” ratings from the NRA and the group’s endorsement, with Walz saying in a 2010 statement he was “proud to stand with the NRA to protect our Second Amendment rights.
As a congressman, Walz voted in favor of legislation that made it easier for veterans deemed “mentally incompetent” to own guns and restricted gun control measures in Washington, D.C., and he sponsored a bill that expanded hunting and recreational shooting access, among other measures.
After the 2018 shooting in Parkland, Florida, Walz—then a gubernatorial candidate—came out in favor of stricter gun measures in a Minneapolis Star-Tribune op-ed, in which he said the NRA was “the biggest single obstacle to passing the most basic measures to prevent gun violence in America” and emphasized he had long supported “common-sense reforms” like universal background checks, banning “bump stocks” for guns and prohibiting people on the No Fly List from purchasing guns.
Walz said he had also donated the $18,000 he received in donations from the NRA to a charity that helps families of troops who are killed or injured while serving, and came out in favor of an assault weapons ban.
Walz has pushed gun control reforms as governor, signing a suite of measures into law in 2023 including universal background checks and “red flag” rules that make it easier to take guns away from people who are at higher risk of injuring themselves or others.
— Alison Durkee in How Tim Walz Lost The NRA’s Support On Guns