“They probably know how they’re going to vote,” said Rob Doar, senior vice president of government affairs for the Gun Owners Caucus. “They just are keeping their hands close to their chest for fear of backlash on either side, either us lobbying them relentlessly to change their mind or the other side lobbying them relentlessly.”

The uncertainty in Minnesota stands in contrast to other Democratic-led states like Washington and Michigan, where lawmakers have passed new gun laws including a ban on selling certain semiautomatic weapons and a red flag law.

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However, Doar said the justified outcry from law enforcement gave Greater Minnesota legislators cover to block the bill and “gave them some ability to look like they’re not for every single restriction.” Hauschild, the DFLer from Hermantown, told MinnPost he was a “big no on the gun storage law.”

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Meanwhile, Doar said he’s attended town halls held by legislators across the state in an effort to better understand where lawmakers stand. Sometimes legislators are more candid in their home districts at events that can be away from reporters.

But Doar said none gave explicit stances for or against bills except the storage one. “Sen. Kupec at one of his town halls did say he had big concerns about the red flag law and its ability to be misused,” Doar said. “I took that to mean that barring some big changes in the bill, he didn’t support it as it was written.”

DFL still not united on red flag law, background checks after months of advocacy on guns