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If you’ve never been in a classroom during a lockdown drill, you’re lucky. Huddling in a closet or a corner away from doors and windows, in a classroom full of silent and scared students, is a situation none of us should have to experience. But this is just one example of how our gun violence epidemic has a negative effect on entire communities, including children, families, and people who don’t even own a gun.
When I started volunteering for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense, I met with my state legislators who told me that it was the criminals with guns that were the problem, not the law-abiding gun owners. Then after every violent incident, after every mass shooting, they would offer “thoughts and prayers” and little else to help prevent people in Wisconsin from being victimized. But as a mom, as a teacher, as a gun owner, and now as a state legislator, I know there are common-sense steps we can—and must—do to prevent gun violence.
I was also told by my then-state representative that we don’t need any new gun laws, we should just do a better job of enforcing the ones we already have. Meanwhile, gun violence has been increasing, and over the past year the pandemic has intensified the impact. Gun sales have surged—there were around 22 million guns purchased in 2020 alone, a 64 percent increase over 2019. The laws on the books are not preventing this accumulating American arsenal.
Guns Kill Kids Too
While opponents of gun legislation like to say that “guns don’t kill people, people do,” what they neglect to mention is that many of those people are kids. Unintentional shootings are the second leading cause of death among children, increasing by nearly one-third during the pandemic when many young people had access to unlocked, unsecured guns in the home.
Since mass shootings and homicides grab all the headlines, many are surprised to learn that in Wisconsin 70 percent of gun deaths are suicides. Guns are exceptionally effective at killing people and, as a result, are also a particularly devastating means of suicide. Only 4 percent of non-firearm suicide attempts result in death, but by using a gun suicide is fatal 90 percent of the time. Access to a gun triples one’s risk of death by suicide, which is why more law enforcement officers die by gun suicide than in the line of duty. With the right treatments and response, these are preventable deaths.
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GOP Fails to Respond
For years our state legislative leaders have not only failed to respond, but have refused to even debate the matter. In November of 2019, Governor Evers called a special session of the legislature to address gun violence, but Republican leaders gaveled the session in and out in a matter of seconds. My Assembly joint resolution about Gun Violence Awareness Day, AJR 55, was introduced on May 14 but was never added to the legislative calendar. Year after year common-sense gun legislation is introduced then dies in committee, without so much as a hearing.
Meanwhile the deaths continue. On June 13 the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported that five people were fatally shot and 16 others injured by gun violence in a single weekend in Milwaukee. The response from one of my legislative colleagues, Representative Joe Sanfelippo of New Berlin, was to call on Governor Evers to activate the Wisconsin National Guard. There are many data-driven, proven solutions to gun violence but mobilizing our military is not one of them.
First, we must be able to talk about the problem without being accused of violating the Second Amendment. The Supreme Court has upheld that the right to bear arms does not extend to those who pose a threat to the safety of themselves or others.
Wisconsin must close the private sale loophole and ensure a background check is conducted on every gun sale. If you buy a gun at a licensed firearms dealer, you must pass a background check. But if you buy a gun online, or from your neighbor at a garage sale, not only is this legal but there is no background check required. This is how the Brookfield Azana spa shooter, who had a criminal history of domestic violence, was able to get a gun and kill four people in a hair salon.
Extreme Risk
To help address gun suicide, Wisconsin needs an Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) law. Already in place in red and blue states across the country, ERPO laws allow guns to be removed from a situation where someone is in crisis or if there is reason to believe an individual is planning a mass shooting. Without an ERPO, if a parent or friend suspects someone has a gun and is at imminent risk for suicide, there is no recourse to help prevent such a tragedy.
We must also do a better job to ensure a culture of gun safety. Having guns loaded and readily accessible increases the risk to everyone in a household, especially children. Up to 80 percent of shooters under 18 obtained their guns from their own home or someone they know, and the majority of unintentional shootings occur inside a home. Storing firearms unloaded, locked, and separate from ammunition can save the life of someone close to you.
None of these measures restricts the rights of gun owners, but they will save lives and prevent the trauma that ripples from every tragic shooting. Instead of hiding our students in the corners of our classrooms, practicing what to do in case of a school shooter, we must teach about responsible gun ownership, acknowledge the crisis at hand, and take proven measures to ensure the safety of every community in our state. No army—or National Guard—is coming to the rescue. It’s up to us to elect state leaders who are willing to stand up and do the right thing.
Deb Andraca represents the 23rd Assembly District in the Wisconsin State Assembly.
