Because of the dedicated efforts of most of the state Assembly Democrats, we will not face concealed weapons on our campus, in our malls or in our Capitol building. There will not be concealed guns among the drunk revelers on a State Street Halloween. Our police will not be kept in the dark about who is carrying weapons. Concealed weapons create an illusion of safety that is not really there.
An ordinary citizen carrying a hand-gun cannot replace the police. But most Wisconsin citizens knew and understood that 69 percent of Wisconsinites did not want this legislation, and their wishes were upheld.
Tuesday night the state Assembly followed the will of the people and narrowly avoided overriding Gov. Doyle's veto of the concealed carry bill. The vote had been twice delayed in the week before, and the bill's sponsors were denied their will by one vote, with the final tally 65-34 voting for the failed override. Rep. Gary Sherman, D-Port Wing, who voted in favor of the bill last November, switched back to ally with the governor.
Doyle had announced his intent to veto the legislation before it was initially passed based upon the recommendations of a majority of law enforcement groups, including the state sheriffs. If the experts on law and order and the majority of voters did not want a \Personal Protection Act,"" why would anyone vote for it?
Sherman did better than other representatives, both in the Senate and the House, who chose to vote in favor of a bill supported only by special interests. He and others who supported the veto are to be commended for not bowing to special interests but listening to their constituents. They sided with groups like the Sheriffs' and Deputy Sheriffs' Association and the Council on Children and Families, who presented far more credible arguments against concealed carry than its supporters could find for it.
Wisconsin has banned concealed weapons for 134 years, and as one of four remaining states maintaining a total ban it is a target for groups like the NRA and Wisconsin Pro Gun Movement. This will come up again. These groups have been pushing this agenda for decades and while it has failed once again, they will not accept this defeat as anything but temporary. Those who hope to maintain Wisconsin's banning of concealed weapons must not fall into complacency.
