Backed by Attorney General Josh Kaul, Gov. Tony Evers proposed an Extreme Risk Protection Order aimed to prevent suicide and gun violence last week at the Capitol.
The legislation, written by Rep. Melissa Sargent, D-Madison, and Sen. Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee, emphasizes the importance of addressing personal safety as well as mass shootings.
“In a state where nearly three of four gun deaths are suicide, having an ERPO process could be an important tool,” Evers said.
If enacted, the ERPO would allow concerned family members, community constituents or law enforcement to petition a judge to revoke someone’s right to purchase, own or carry a firearm for two weeks to a year — if they pose a threat to themselves or others.
“Everyone in our state deserves to live without the fear of gun violence, and without losing a loved one to suicide. Yet, for far too many people here in Wisconsin, our lives continue to be affected by the tragedies of firearm-related deaths,” Sargent said.
Currently, police cannot confiscate a gun unless a major incident occurred or a crime was committed. Despite this, some law enforcement do not believe this new bill is necessary.
“We already have laws on the books that can protect against someone the family is thinking that they’re going to commit a crime … they already can come here and report that and we can take appropriate action,” Oneida County Sheriff Grady Hartman told WJFW TV-12.
Anna Moffit, from the National Association on Mental Illness, told WKOW News that she believes the newly proposed legislation is the first step in a positive direction. NAMI is an organization dedicated to educating and supporting those affected with mental illness and supports other ERPO laws nationwide.
Moffit said she wishes legislators will choose to be cautious in their writing and not equate gun violence to mental illness. She continued to state that those affected with mental illness are more likely to be victims of gun violence.
According to a Sept. 4 Marquette University Law School Poll, a majority of Wisconsinites agree with Moffit, with 81 percent of Wisconsin gun-owning households supporting an ERPO.
On the contrary, many Republican lawmakers have expressed their disapproval of ERPOs, government buy-backs and gun control bills.
“We believe this legislation poses threats to due process and the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens,” stated Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald.
Instead, Republican legislators favor spending $100 million on school safety and security programs, and improving mental health services, according to Fox 6 News.
Though, Fitzgerald said on record in August that he does not have the answer to solving the gun violence issue.
Former Sen. Leah Vukmir mocked Evers with a tweet of her shooting a lever-action 30-caliber rifle captioned: “Come and take it @GovEvers #2A.”
The gun Vukmir is pictured shooting is not a military-grade weapon and would not be a part of the buyback that Evers said he had an interest in earlier this month.
Seventeen states have passed bills similar to the proposed Wisconsin legislation and 20 more states are deliberating others.
“Continued inaction is complacency, and we cannot continue to stand idly by as our communities struggle to adapt to a world in which gun violence is accepted as the new norm.” Sargent said.
state news
