Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz says he wants to “strike a proper balance” of keeping the State Capitol open to the public while also ensuring it’s secure.

Some lawmakers have said they want Capitol security tightened after the assassination of Rep. Melissa Hortman last month. She was shot and killed in her own home alongside her husband, Mark. State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were also attacked but survived.

Walz told the Minnesota Star Tribune in an interview Monday that legislators are “rightfully concerned” with security issues in general, and at the Capitol specifically, which has no metal detectors at public entrances.

“We have to assess it and you have to strike that proper balance,” Walz said. “The one thing is I always worried you make this a ... fortress or whatever, and you discourage the public from coming in. I’m trying to figure that out.”

Walz also spoke about other pressing issues, such as access to guns after the shooting, how his administration plans to respond to President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill, and more.

Walz said he saw Hoffman and his wife last month just before the funeral for the Hortmans.

“He had a reputation of being tough here and all that, but I’m like, ‘My God, man, you were shot nine times.’ And he sat in there joking and talking,” Walz said.

“So far he’s recovering,” Walz added. “I think it sounds like his prognosis for pretty much a full recovery is really good.”

Walz clarified that he’s not proposing legislation to limit guns at the Capitol, just that he’s putting “it out there.”

“No one is talking about taking your guns away,” Walz said. “Just leave it in your car if you’re going to come in this building. We do that in other businesses. I don’t understand it — why you would need that.”

“I always think we have to take a look at that,” Walz said of gun control.

Walz also reiterated his belief in the right to legally possess firearms. He also noted that the alleged shooter of the Hortmans and Hoffmans appears to have obtained and possessed his guns legally, despite the state’s recent red flag and background check laws.

“I’m not sure it looks on first glance on this that either of those things would have prevented it,” he said.

It’s already illegal, Walz noted, though he admitted he wasn’t sure what could be done to prevent it.

He also said it’s important for law enforcement officers to be easily identifiable too, mentioning his recent testimony to Congress about Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“You can’t just show up wearing a mask in an unmarked vehicle. Because my fear was it not only puts civilians at risk, it puts law officers at risk,” he said.

In June, Walz defended the state’s immigration laws to Republicans who questioned him during a congressional hearing. Walz called those questions, even from members of the Minnesota delegation, not about immigration but “personal attacks on a false narrative.”

“That’s what they used their time for,” he said.

Walz said his administration will “try our very best” but won’t be able to fill the entire gap left by shrinking federal dollars.

“I can’t make up the difference on 250,000 people on health care,” he said. “It’s going to be very, very challenging to fulfill some of the food requirements and the food insecurity.”

Walz said it’s “probably likely” he will call legislators back for a special session to deal with the funding shortfall, but said it’s possible they will tackle it during the regular session in February.

Following the Hortmans’ killings and the shootings of the Hoffmans, Walz said there have been calls for politicians across the ideological spectrum to tone down their rhetoric.

The criticisms of both sides, he said, amount to a “false equivalency.”

”[Trump] said he hated Democrats two weeks after one was murdered. ... I think history is going to be very clear on this: The thing that has changed in our politics is Donald Trump, his rhetoric of division.“

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