WI: senate hearing on bill to ban private gun sales

[Monkeyleg]

Dear fellow gun owner:

On Tuesday, May 29th there will be a Senate committee hearing on SB104, Senator Spencer Coggs' bill to ban the private sale of firearms in Milwaukee county.

If this bill is passed, the implications will be far-reaching. First, it will prevent you from buying or trading firearms with your friends or relatives without first going through a background check with a licensed dealer.

Secondly, it will increase the cost of buying or trading firearms with your friends or relatives, as you're going to have to pay for the background check on every firearm. And, remember, that background check fee is targetted by Governor Doyle to be raised by $22.

Third, this bill will not just affect Milwaukee county. Currently we have a statewide pre-emption law that prohibits municipalities from enacting gun control laws more strict than those at the state level.

If this bill is passed, there will be many counties scrambling to ban private gun sales. We'll wind up with a confusing patchwork of gun laws across the state that will invariably snare honest citizens. That's why we had the push for the pre-emption law in 1995, so that honest citizens wouldn't be put in the position of wondering what's legal and where.

Fourth, if cities or counties are able to legislatively "opt out" of the intent of the pre-emption law, what's next? Handgun bans like the one that Madison had in the 1990's? Bans on military-style rifles in Racine or some other city? Exemptions to the Range Protection Act that could shut down your favorite ranges in your area?

If the anti-gunners find that they can successfully pick away at the state pre-emption law, then anything is possible.

The hearing for this bill will be held from 3 pm to 7 pm at the Department of Natural Resources building at 2300 Martin Luther King Drive in Milwaukee.

Please make every effort possible to attend this hearing, and voice your opposition to this bill.

For over ten years, gun owners in Wisconsin have been making progress, making Wisconsin a more gun-friendly state. We cannot allow all of the good work that has been done to be shredded by the anti-gun crowd.

This bill will not stop drive-by shootings. It will not stop criminals from getting guns. As with every other gun control law, it will only serve to put more restrictions on the law-abiding.

Thanks,
Wisconsin Citizens for Personal Security (formerly the Wisconsin Concealed Carry Association)
Louis Danielson, Chairman
Bill Schmitz, Vice Chairman
Andrew Walkowiak, Treasurer
Frank Tower, Secretary
Dick Baker, Founder

 

[General Geoff]

What's to stop people from just driving outside the county, exchanging the firearms, then coming back?

This is quite possibly the stupidest bill I've ever seen.

 

[Monkeyleg]

General Geoff, I haven't yet had a chance to read the bill, as it's been under wraps since it was introduced.*

While I don't necessarily believe what I'm told until I read a bill, my understanding is that the transaction would not have to take place in Milwaukee county. Rather, the transaction would apply to any resident of Milwaukee county.

If anyone has the time to read through the bill and give a synopsis, that would be helpful.


*The legislators and staffers I talk to regularly called the timing of this bill to a "T." They predicted that the bill wouldn't be introduced until there was a shooting in Milwaukee that would outrage the entire community.

Well, we had that earlier this week, when a 4 year-old girl was shot and killed during a botched drive-by.

Nevermind that the target of the drive-by knows who the assailants are, or even that he was shot himself. He's not snitching.

If we could act like PETA, we would throw packets of blood on the legislators sponsoring this bill. But we have to behave in a civilized manner. So, we'll just have to take the hits.

 

[General Geoff]

While I don't necessarily believe what I'm told until I read a bill, my understanding is that the transaction would not have to take place in Milwaukee county. Rather, the transaction would apply to any resident of Milwaukee county.

Isn't that overstepping jurisdiction?

 

[Monkeyleg]

General Geoff, until I read the bill, I can't answer that question.

I've talked to a couple of Republican legislators and staffers about this bill, and they've assured me that Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch and Majority Leader Jeff Fitzgerald have promised that this bill will never see the light of day in the Assembly.

Given the amount of media pressure that's coming, though, Huebsch and Fitzgerald may not be able to stop the bill.