A shooting at a Catholic church full of school children in Minneapolis has prompted calls for action by Minnesota's elected officials. But translating action into policy may be difficult in a state that mirrors the nation's partisan divisions and split opinions on how best to prevent mass shootings.

A day after the deadly shooting, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on Thursday called for a statewide and federal ban on certain semiautomatic weapons and high-capacity magazines at a City Hall press conference surrounded by gun control advocates and various officials. If others don't act, Frey suggested that city officials may attempt to do so themselves.

"There is no reason that someone should be able to reel off 30 shots before they even have to reload. We're not talking about your father's hunting rifle here. We're talking about guns that are built to pierce armor and kill people," Frey said.

Frey said that if other levels of government are unable or unwilling to enact reforms, "let us do it ourselves."

"I think we'd be happy to ban assault rifles here in Minneapolis," Frey said to applause. "I know we'd be happy to prevent a next mass shooting from taking place.

While Minnesota is often perceived across the country as a Democratic state, based partly on its tendency to support Democratic presidents, the reality is that the state usually has some form of divided government. That remains the case now.

Democratic Gov. Tim Walz must work with a state House split evenly between Democrats and Republicans and a Senate where Democrats hold just a one seat advantage.

AP Video by Mark Vancleave