Gun Violence Awareness Resolution Introduced in State Legislature

Madison, Wis. – Gun violence takes a deadly toll on Wisconsin communities in every part of the state. Three lawmakers want to officially proclaim June 2nd as Gun Violence Awareness Day in Wisconsin and join a growing movement to bring awareness to the problem and data-driven solutions that can help.

The Joint Resolution (LRB-2071/1) introduced by Senator LaTonya Johnson, Representative Deb Andraca and Representative Shelia Stubbs, comes just days after five people were injured by gunfire in Milwaukee on the same day a school shooting in Nashville, TN killed three students and three teachers.

“Firearms are now the leading cause of death among children and teens. At what point will my Republican colleagues be willing to do something about it?” said Senator Johnson. “My neighbors, friends and family have been plagued by gun violence for far too long. Gun violence costs our country more than $550 billion in direct and indirect costs annually. Many of the evidenced-based gun safety provisions are already in Governor Evers’ budget. I hope these measures will be passed as part of the budget – or at the very least given the public hearing they so desperately deserve.”

“If we can’t even talk about gun violence, we can’t fix it,” said Representative Andraca. “This Joint Resolution is a fact-based, non-partisan step in the right direction and something almost every legislator should be able to support. This isn’t a Milwaukee problem, this is a Wisconsin problem. We need more of our colleagues to acknowledge these facts and find the willingness to come together and save lives.”

“My constituents want more than thoughts and prayers; they want action,” said Representative Stubbs. “We know what works: background checks on every gun sale, red flag laws to remove guns from those who pose a danger to themselves or others, and safe storage laws to keep guns away from children and those vulnerable to suicidal ideation. Yet year after year these bills get proposed then ignored by Republican leaders, and Wisconsinites are paying for their inaction with their lives.”

According to Everytown for Gun Safety, Wisconsin has some of the weakest gun laws in the country, and 678 people are killed with guns in an average year. Wisconsin has no law requiring background checks on unlicensed gun sales, state laws protecting victims of domestic abuse are dangerously incomplete, and there is no extreme risk law to remove firearms from people who pose an imminent risk to themselves or others.

Johnson, Andraca and Stubbs, co-chairs of the Wisconsin Coalition for Gun Safety, are seeking co-sponsors for the Joint Resolution, which they hope will be passed by the Rules Committee and taken up during the legislative floor period April 24-27 or May 16-18.  Contact information for all Wisconsin legislators can be found at legis.wisconsin.gov.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.