After attacks on Minnesota lawmakers, some commit to cooler rhetoric. Can it last?

ST. PAUL — When two of their colleagues were attacked in dark-of-night shootings at their homes, many lawmakers naturally wondered whether they were also at risk and if they could do anything to reel in the political toxicity that contributed to the tragedy.

About two months later, discussions about physical security are in full swing. But some lawmakers and people close to Minnesota’s political process are also contemplating how they can steer a gentler era of political dialogue that might actually last.

A group of them accepted an invitation not long ago from Shannon Watson to firm up their commitment to do something to change the tide.

“This is a movement to honor those lost and wounded by choosing community over conflict, dialogue over division, and courage over cowardice,” said Wat