NRA-ILA Head Says 2A Stakes Are High in Wisconsin Supreme Court Election

Tomorrow may be April 1st, but the Wisconsin Supreme Court election that will take place is no laughing matter, especially for gun owners in the Badger State. 

That’s the warning from NRA-ILA head John Commerford, who is warning that the election race between liberal Dane County judge Susan Crawford and conservative Waukesha County judge Brad Schimel is crucial for gun owners if they want to keep their 2A freedoms intact. 

The Wisconsin Supreme Court election will have a significant impact on each decision before the court. For gun owners, this election is particularly critical, as a litany of anti-gun laws from mandatory waiting periods to red flag gun confiscation laws have been proposed or signaled by the governor.

With so much at stake, the National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) has endorsed Brad Schimel to fill the vacancy on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. As Attorney General of Wisconsin, Mr. Schimel received an “A+” rating, the highest grade possible, for his defense of the individual right to keep and bear arms. And in Wisconsin, this is a right doubly guaranteed, as a 1998 amendment to the state constitution ensures, “The people have the right to keep and bear arms for security, defense, hunting, recreation, or any lawful purpose.”

Brad Schimel has been an ardent supporter of the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding gun owners and sportsmen in Wisconsin. He opposed efforts aimed at criminalizing private firearm transfers. He also opposes magazine capacity restrictions and legislation that would ban commonly owned semi-automatic firearms used for hunting, recreational shooting, and self-defense.

Schimel has a record of supporting Constitutional Carry and recognizing the right of law-abiding Wisconsin gun owners to carry firearms without government permission. He also believes 18–20-year-olds have the same Second Amendment rights as those 21 years and older. And like the NRA, he has also advocated for improving safety at schools.

As Attorney General, Schimel joined an amicus brief in support of a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court to determine whether a San Francisco ordinance that requires citizens to lock up handguns in homes violates the right to keep and bear arms under the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Second Amendment rights of Wisconsinites will be protected and strengthened with him serving on the court.

As a judge and former prosecutor, Crawford hasn’t really had to take a position on things like a semi-auto ban or interpreting the text of Wisconsin’s right to keep and bear arms. But as Commerford notes, her record on the bench is replete with soft-on-crime punishments for violent offenders, and “aligns with the incongruous position of the most ardent of anti-gun radicals: soft on criminals, yet all too ready to penalize law-abiding gun owners.”

Schmiel understands that you don’t increase public safety by making it harder for protect themselves. He also gets that the right to keep and bear arms isn’t a second-class right, but instead is of fundamental importance to both individual safety and a free society. 

Donald Trump won Wisconsin by about 30,000 votes last November, but turnout is going to be much smaller on Tuesday, and whoever does a better job of getting their base to the polls is going to be victorious. Almost $100 million has been spent on the state Supreme Court race by both sides in an effort to get their voters to show up tomorrow, and most polls show the race to be neck-and-neck. Gun owners in Wisconsin will play a major role in this election, and have the opportunity to place an ardent defender of the right to keep and bear arms on the highest court in the state when they visit their nearest voting booth on Tuesday.