Senator Agard responds to Speaker Vos comments regarding gun reform legislation

MADISON- Yesterday, Speaker Robin Vos made comments regarding the efficacy of gun reform legislation to prevent gun violence in our communities. Vos stated that there is little we can do to address gun violence beyond arresting perpetrators in response to mass shootings. Senator Melissa Agard (D-Madison) released the following statement in response to his comments.

“Saying that there is little we can do as a state to prevent gun violence beyond arresting perpetrators is ignorant of the facts and puts our communities at risk. States that have put common sense gun safety measures in place have lowered incidents of gun violence,” Sen. Agard stated. “Refusing to take up something as universally agreed upon as background checks shows that the Speaker is more interested in special interests and partisan politics than keeping our friends and neighbors safe. I am appalled by this lack of basic humanity, especially as the Oconomowoc community is still grieving from the tragedy that occurred there last week.”

The statistics are clear:

• In states where common sense gun safety legislation has been enacted, gun violence has gone down by 40% (Making Our Communities Safer, Americans for Responsible Solutions).
• Background checks have stopped over 2.4 million gun sales to prohibited people including felons and domestic abusers (Mayors Against Illegal Guns, No Strings Attached, September 2013).
• Universal background checks are supported by 80 percent of Wisconsinites and 75% of Wisconsin gun owners (Marquette Law Poll, 2019).

“Everyone deserves to be safe where they live, work, and play – whether they are at a grocery store, school, place of worship, movie theatre, spa, concert, job site, playground, mall, festivals, or in their own home. There are measures we can take right now to prevent mass shootings we have seen across the country for decades. We need our political leaders to have the courage to do the right thing – something that Vos doesn’t have,” Sen. Agard concluded.