MADISON, Wis. — Surging gun violence in Milwaukee this summer has prompted city leaders to renew calls for state lawmakers to pass stricter gun laws, but Republicans who control the Legislature say that’s unlikely to happen.
In previous legislative sessions, Democratic lawmakers have repeatedly proposed the kind of solutions Milwaukee’s mayor and police chief are pushing for. Republicans have blocked those bills, saying gun violence in Milwaukee isn’t the result of lax laws but rather lax leaders who are too soft on crime.
VIDEO: As gun violence surges, Milwaukee-area lawmakers talk solutions
“Milwaukee doesn’t have a gun problem; it’s got a criminal problem. And sadly, we’ve seen for far too long, individuals who simply have not been held accountable for their crimes,” said Republican Rep. Bob Donovan, who previously served for two decades on the Milwaukee Common Council.
During the week of Independence Day alone, six children were shot in Milwaukee. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s homicides database, 63 people have been killed by shootings in the city this year.
Donovan called for city leaders and members of Milwaukee’s criminal justice system to meet with lawmakers to discuss ways to better enforce laws that already exist.
“We need a crackdown,” he said. “But that’s not happening. Our judges are timid; our mayor is afraid to call for that kind of stuff.”
Democratic Rep. Deb Andraca, who was a gun safety activist before running for office, said legislative Democrats plan to bring back a number of gun laws they’ve proposed in previous sessions, including red flag laws, tax breaks for safe gun storage, and more.
“We know what works. We’ve seen the data,” Andraca said. “States that have stricter gun laws have fewer gun deaths.”
Democrats’ gun safety priorities:
- Red flag laws: Allow judges to temporarily take firearms from people who they believe pose a risk to themselves or others.
- Universal or expanded background checks: Currently, background checks are not required in Wisconsin for guns purchased at gun shows or sold between private citizens.
- Safe storage: Remove sales tax for purchases of gun safes, trigger locks, and other safe storage equipment.
- Allow local governments to set their own rules: Currently, local governments like Milwaukee are prohibited from setting gun rules that are stricter than state law.
Republicans are expected to maintain their control of the Legislature in the next session, but Democrats like Andraca say they’re hopeful that new, more competitive districts signed into law earlier this year could force some compromise.
One proposal that could receive bipartisan support would limit the ability of domestic abusers to obtain a concealed carry permit.
“I think domestic abusers ought to be a felons,” Donovan said. “That needs to be taken far more seriously than it is.”
Federal law prohibits states from issuing concealed carry permits to people who have been convicted of misdemeanor domestic abuse, but that charge doesn’t exist in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Supreme Court unanimously ruled in 2022 that domestic abusers charged with disorderly conduct can still get concealed carry permits.
Democrats proposed a bill last November to close what liberal Justice Jill Karofsky called a “dangerous loophole” in state law, but Republicans never scheduled the bill for a committee hearing.
“We can’t reduce gun violence if we can’t talk about gun violence,” Andraca said. “We’re really calling on our legislators in the next session to start holding public hearings so we can talk about these measures and see if we can reach a compromise.
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