Hundreds of shoes lined the state Capitol stairs representing Wisconsinites who have lost their lives due to gun violence. Legislators, law enforcement officials and advocates against gun violence met Monday to spread awareness on how to decrease gun fatalities around the state.
The Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort, or WAVE, launched its new tour, Hearts & Soles, in an effort to raise awareness of gun violence through background checks and gun education.
The organization will travel around Wisconsin, setting up a display of 467 pairs of empty shoes, signifying those lost to gun violence. The organization will also campaign in four other Wisconsin cities to advocate for personal and policy changes regarding this violence, Jeri Bonavia, the executive director of WAVE, said.
According to the WAVE website, enforcing background checks for all gun transactions is an issue the organization endorses and one that state Rep. Terese Berceau, D-Madison, said she is invested in. In the press conference, Berceau, who is one author of the background check bill, said she and other legislators are building a network of people who are inclined to advocate for background checks and bring up other issues concerning gun violence.
Madison Police Chief Michael Koval said the state is “looking at a public health epidemic.” According to Koval, the number of crimes involving a weapon rose threefold between 1983 and 2014.
Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney brought attention to statistics involved in gun violence saying domestic violence victims are eight times more likely to be killed by guns in the home, and the most common way to commit suicide is by using a gun.
Mahoney said the end to gun violence requires coordination efforts from both citizens and lawmakers.
“It’s time to get to work,” Mahoney said.
Joy Newmann, a retired UW-Madison professor and member of WAVE who has taught family violence classes around the area, said she is invested in WAVE’s efforts because she is frustrated by the rise of gun violence. Expressing the immediacy of the issue, Newmann pointed out six shootings in Milwaukee over the weekend and one Monday morning in Madison.
According to Newmann, gun violence is an intersection of issues involving mental health problems, substance abuse, family violence and gun use.
“It’s become an epidemic,” Newmann said, “and I think we need to work hard to stop it."
