Today's vote in the state Assembly will determine whether or not concealed weapons become a potential danger to the citizens and law enforcement of Wisconsin.
When Gov. Jim Doyle vetoed the concealed carry bill last November, it was easy to assume it would not be overridden. Despite many attempts, neither this particular crop of legislators nor any in the last 17 years has been able to push an override through. With the current crowd, it wasn't for lack of trying: They have made six attempts and failed each time, including their recent foray into anti-gay marriage legislation.
The Senate broke through that fruitless pattern Thursday, voting 23 -10 for the Personal Protection Act, which will allow concealed weapons everywhere but those places specifically listed as exempt, including campus buildings and playgrounds. Five Democrats voted with the Republican majority, preventing a quick block of the override attempt.
This is despite overwhelming citizen opposition-the latest numbers indicate that 69 percent of the population is opposed to the proposal-and the disapproval of a stunning majority of the law enforcement community. Only three of the 72 county sheriffs have expressed active support for the bill, while 65 have declared their intention to refuse to process applications for the concealed weapon permits. Law enforcement groups have come out in force against the bill.
This vote is the most blatant display of soul-selling to special interests in recent memory. The Wisconsin pro-gun lobby and the National Rifle Association must be extremely pleased to know that their lobbyists and money are more powerful than the majority of citizens. That senators are more concerned with pandering to pro-gun interests than following the will of their constituents is inexplicable and highly disturbing: They're more afraid of big money's influence than voters.
Equally troubling, even within an already unsettling bill, are some of its provisions. They include conditions closing the records to the public. Those concealing and carrying could do so in absolute secrecy: Even police officers could not know who had a permit. There is something seriously wrong with a law supposedly intended to help people protect themselves when it would actually hinder police investigating crimes.
State Sen. David Zein, R-Eau Claire, claims that concealed carry causes a reduction in violent crime by 7 to 8 percent. Nice numbers, yes, but where did they come from? What study produced them and who sponsored it? Predictive numbers don't mean anything in this debate, because Wisconsin isn't the imaginary land of some study, nor can the template of another state's transition be applied to it. The state already has a low crime rate, and perhaps the fact that concealed weapons have been banned for over 130 years has a part in that.
The carrying of concealed weapons is utterly unnecessary for ordinary citizens. Even former Gov. Tommy Thompson thought so when he put a stop to the hard push in the movement during the 1990s. Wisconsin's citizens can now only hope for wisdom to triumph in the Assembly. They were two votes short of a majority last fall when the bill originally passed, and Wisconsin's citizens can only hope those numbers are maintained. Two Republicans crossed party lines to vote against the bill, and seven Democrats voted for it. The end result of their vote is impossible to predict.
It is not that a bloodbath or rash of murders is the presumed outcome of a concealed weapons law, but that the legislation is unneeded and unwanted by a full 69 percent of the population. People will be hurt by these guns and people will die, in enough numbers to offset Zein's predicted 7 to 8 percent reduction in violent crime, if it occurs.
The veto override must fail, despite the vague threats and fears gun supporters have spread to aid their cause. Concealed carry is as likely to create more risks for the population than the ban. If the Assembly achieves the two-thirds majority, then the special interests have won over the citizens. That is not democracy, it's only a pale shadow going through the motions.
