The Minnesota DFL held the first of what will be a series of town halls on gun violence Saturday in Waconia.

Gov. Tim Walz was joined by former U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords, a Democrat from Arizona, who survived an assassination attempt in 2011, and has since worked to reduce gun violence. A Minnesota teacher and two physicians also joined the discussion.

Before that group answered questions on stage, the mother of a student at Annunciation Catholic Church and School, where a mass shooting killed two children and injured 30 others, spoke about the physical and emotional damage the shooting had on children in the school.

“I understand that guns are a part of American life, and the right to own them is constitutionally protected, but the cost of these particular weapons is simply to

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