Wisconsin Governor Calls for Slate of New Gun Control in State of State Address

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers hasn’t had a lot of luck pushing for gun control during his time in the Governor’s Mansion. It hasn’t been for lack of trying, either. Republicans make up the majority of both chambers of the legislature, and while Democrats made some headway in the last election, the GOP has had a majority in the state since 2011.

But that doesn’t mean he didn’t take the opportunity afforded to him by his State of the State address to try and push for gun control anyway.

Nothing groundbreaking, mind you, just the usual stuff every anti-gunner wants for Christmas.

Dem Gov. Tony Evers Wednesday night called for steps to lower costs for Wisconsinites, from eliminating the sales tax on over-the-counter medications to capping co-pays for insulin and providing $500 million in state funds to make childcare more affordable.

Evers also pledged new gun control laws, money to remove lead from school bubblers and a “historic” investment in K-12 education in his upcoming state budget.

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Evers has previously pushed GOP lawmakers without success to require everyone who buys a firearm to go through a background check, something not currently required for sales at gun shows or private sales, as well as implementing a red flag law. His call Wednesday night also included requiring guns to be locked away or have a trigger lock if they’re in homes where there are kids or someone prohibited from possessing a firearm, as well as ensuring law enforcement is immediately notified if a firearm is lost or stolen.

First, I’m going to point out that most guns sold at gun shows do, in fact, have a background check associated with them. Most of the booths at gun shows are licensed dealers who hit the gun show circuit but are bound by all the same laws as a brick-and-mortar gun store. So background checks are required on most gun show sales.

The implication otherwise is a massive problem.

But Evers wants to cover private sales, too, which would include those tiny number of sales at gun shows that don’t involve a dealer. This is incredibly problematic, though, because this adds to the whole concept of a gun registry. The ATF keeps up with these records and is making moves to digitize the records they have. Between those records and the records on file with gun dealers, what you end up with is, in fact, a registry. There may be holes in it, but not enough to matter.

So that’s a no.

Red flag laws are a big issue, too, because they violate people’s gun rights and their right to due process, all over mere implication they might be dangerous.

Mandatory storage laws make it so guns are inaccessible when they’re needed.

Mandatory reporting laws treat law-abiding gun owners who become the victim of a theft as the criminal, particularly when many people may not even realize their firearm was stolen.

All of these measures have been hotly debated and Evers is going to be disappointed if he actually thinks Republicans in the legislature are going to pass any of it.