Rep. Robyn Vining Backs Extreme Risk Protection Order Legislation

MADISON – Today, Governor Tony Evers, Attorney General Josh Kaul, pediatricians, law enforcement, and Wisconsin legislators showed their support for legislation authored by State Representative Melissa Sargent (D-Madison) and State Senator Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee) to create Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPO) in Wisconsin. Extreme risk laws offer families and law enforcement officers a formal legal process to temporarily reduce an individual’s access to firearms if they pose a danger to themselves or others. State Representative Robyn Vining (D-Wauwatosa) released the following statement in support of ERPO legislation:

“I stand with Governor Evers, Attorney General Kaul, and my colleagues in support of extreme risk laws, as we continue to work towards a safer Wisconsin, one with less tragedies caused by gun violence. I met with the Attorney General and my legislative colleagues to ensure that due process protections would remain intact. This bill creates a process by which these parties can legally intervene in order to temporarily prevent someone in crisis from accessing firearms, while also protecting responsible gun ownership. Any individual who falsely files a petition knowing the information to be false is guilty of a Class H felony.

“Temporarily removing guns from individuals in crisis can reduce the amount of deaths by firearm suicide. Connecticut increased its enforcement of its Extreme Risk law, and as a result, there has been a 14% reduction in the states firearm suicide rate. Similarly, in Indiana during the 10 years since the state passed its Extreme Risk law in 2005, the state’s firearm suicide rate decreased by 7.5%. The most recent Marquette University Law Poll released earlier this month found that ERPO legislation has 81% approval from Wisconsinites.

“As Representative Sargent said, this is not a partisan issue, it is a pragmatic issue where we want to save lives in the state of Wisconsin. ERPO laws are proven to reduce firearm suicide, domestic violence by firearm, and other deadly gun violence actions, including mass shootings. We must act now to make our state safer for all, with common sense gun violence prevention laws and strong due process protections. With this law, we prove we can do both.”

Rep. Vining represents the 14th Assembly District, which includes parts of Brookfield, Wauwatosa, and Milwaukee. For more information, visit Rep. Vining’s website here. 

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.

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