Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, Police Chief Ed Flynnand Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm put together animpressively coordinated campaign against handgun violence after tracing thelast six shootings of Milwaukee police officersback to one gun store in West Milwaukee.
Even a few pro-gun Republicans in the stateLegislature voiced possible support for stronger laws to keep guns out of thehands of convicted felons and penalize “straw buyers” who purchase guns thatimmediately fall into the hands of criminals.
Since politicians all over America arenotorious for their cowardice about voting for strong laws to control slaughterin the streets from handguns, for a brief moment it appeared a rare opportunityhad arrived to pass meaningful legislation. Armed with evidence that BadgerGuns in West Milwaukee had sold one-third of the guns traced from Milwaukee crimes over thelast four years, Barrett proposed a series of tougher state laws againstillegal sale and possession of handguns.
They included making multiple offenses of carryingconcealed weapons felonies instead of misdemeanors, making it a felony to actas a “straw buyer” to purchase a gun illegally for a felon, requiring felons tostay 1,000 feet away from gun stores and requiring all gun thefts to be reportedso the owners of guns used in crimes could not claim such thefts after thecrimes were committed.
So far, so good. With Democrats controlling bothhouses of the Legislature and the governor's office, finally there seemed to bea real possibility such common-sense measures might pass.
Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle twice before stood up tothe pro-gun lobby by vetoing concealed carry laws passed by Republicans in theLegislature. And one possible candidate to succeed Doyle was none other thanBarrett himself. The prospects for stronger state laws to reduce gun violencenever looked better.
Then, a baffling thing happened. Chief Flynn andDistrict Attorney Chisholm called a press conference to publicly throw in thetowel on concealed carry.
As a result of a coordinated, state-by-statecampaign by the National Rifle Association, Wisconsin and Illinois are the onlytwo states in the country that still ban residents from obtaining permits forthe concealed carry of deadly weapons.
The goofy NRA ideology claims more guns equal morepublic safety, when, in fact, the exact opposite is true.
In the vivid, B-movie imaginations of NRAsupporters, criminals are afraid to rob or assault citizens in states allowingconcealed carry because they never know when Granny is going to pull out a gunand plug them between the eyes.
In truth, people who point guns at other people arefar more likely to use their guns if they fear their victims might be armed.And law-abiding citizens who pack heat aren't nearly as quick on the draw orcavalier about shooting fellow human beings as bad guys.
More deadly weapons on the street mean more deadlyweapons on the street. The more handguns around to kill human beings, the morehuman beings will be killed.
Why Change Positions?
So why in the world would Flynn and Chisholm comeout in favor of concealed carry when police officers and district attorneysacross the state have been among the strongest forces against concealed carry?
Only the rare law enforcement official pandering tothe right wing, such as Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, wants policeofficers to have to fear every citizen they stop is armed with a deadly weapon.
Flynn and Chisholm said they were willing to give upthe ban on concealed carry in exchange for stronger background checks, lawscontrolling the sale of guns at gun shows and between individuals and toughrestrictions on who should be permitted to carry a concealed weapon.
But why are these guys negotiating with themselves?
If they want tougher controls on private gun salesand gun shows, they should simply propose them.
As long as Wisconsinstands strong against concealed carry, there is no need to negotiate over whoshould be allowed to endanger their fellow citizens by carrying concealedweapons in public.
Doyle and the Democrats in the Legislature alreadyshowed they could stand up to the pro-gun lobby and not only survivepolitically, but actually increase their numbers in the Legislature.
So far, Barrett, part of a coalition of mayorsacross the country led by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg seeking tougher gunlaws, stands firm against concealed carry.
Law enforcement officials from the state's largesturban area, which experiences the most human destruction from handguns on itsstreets, should be the last ones to propose watering down their own anti-gunproposals.
