WI Turn coat says CCW won't survive

[StopTheGrays]

The assemblyman who cast a deciding vote last year against overriding the governor's veto of a bill allowing people to carry concealed weapons in public does not like the bill this time around, despite changes aimed at softening opposition.

Rep. Gary Sherman's vote was controversial at the time, because he voted for the bill before voting against the veto override. At the time, Sherman said he was helping preserve minority power by showing Republicans that they need to work with Democrats.

Sherman, D-Port Wing, said he would definitely vote against the current bill. It has already been approved by the state Senate and is on the Assembly agenda for Tuesday. It is expected to be approved by the Republican-dominated Assembly, and Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle has said that he will once again veto the legislation.

But Sherman said he doesn't expect a mere one-vote margin preventing a veto override this time around.

"It's still pretty radical," Sherman said of the current bill. "Almost all of the sheriffs in my district oppose it."


Moreover, he added, some people who are concerned about maintaining Second Amendment protections fear it is a type of gun control.

"I would prefer to see 'may issue' rather than 'shall issue' a permit," Sherman said. "Given that public opinion is somewhat skeptical, 'may' would give local law enforcement some authority to issue at their discretion."

States that have passed such legislation in the past tended not to do it all at once, he said.

"It's too big a step after 130 years," Sherman said. "We need something in between. And we need more statesmanship and less politics."...



...Rep. Scott Gunderson, R-Waterford, the author of the bill in the Assembly, is optimistic.

"The Senate certainly did what we expected, voting 23 to 10 for the bill. We expect it to be the same for the override," Gunderson said. Twenty-two votes would be the required two-thirds for a veto override.

He added that he hopes Sen. Luther Olson, R-Ripon, will also support the override, though he voted against the bill last week. Last year Olsen was one of two Republican Assembly members, along with John Townsend, R-Fond du Lac, who switched votes to support the override after opposing the bill.

"In the Assembly we are working very hard and hoping for 66 votes, the magic number for an override. We came a long way with some of the changes we made. We are very close to having it become law in Wisconsin," Gunderson predicted.

"We were just one vote short in the last session, with Rep. Sherman flipping his vote. We have some other legislators wanting very much to vote for the bill. We hope we can convince a few why it is important. We will pass this out of the Assembly and wait and see what the governor does. If it comes back over, there will be a veto override vote and we will see what happens."

Gunderson said the bill is important because people have the right to protect themselves and their property. Wisconsin residents already have the right to legally carry weapons in their home, business or other property, he noted.

"It's very clear that people should have the right to do that. The state and U.S. constitutions make it clear that this should be the law in Wisconsin," Gunderson said.

The Wisconsin Sheriffs and Deputy Sheriffs Association opposes the bill on the grounds that permit information would be available to law enforcement only in the very narrow circumstance of a traffic stop.

"It takes a major tool away from sheriffs deputies and police officers when dealing with other contacts or criminal cases," said Sauk County Sheriff Randy Stammen.

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Rest of it is here.
http://www.madison.com/tct/news/stories/index.php?ntid=64839&ntpid=3

Moreover, he added, some people who are concerned about maintaining Second Amendment protections fear it is a type of gun control.

You think he means WGO?

 

[TrapperReady]

Sherman (who was a sponsor of last-year's bill) sold whatever remained of his soul to Doyle for that vote. Now he's nothing more than a lap-dog, spouting whatever his master wants.

This being the High-Road and all, I can't begin to describe my opinion of the weasel.

 

[Trip20]

You think he means WGO?

Or similar,...yeah.

 

[jefmad]

The problem is that after Sherman turned on us everyone vowed that he would never get elected again and voters would see him for the traiter that he is.
Well, he got re-elected and is still here. Its going to make legislators who were nervous about backlash rightfully think there will not be any.

 

[Monkeyleg]

jefmad, that was my first thought after Sherman got re-elected as well.

As I thought about it, though, I realized that we had a good point to make to any Democrats who are thinking about pulling a "Sherman."

Gary Sherman had to work harder than any other legislator to get re-elected. He had Governor Doyle escort him all over the state for fund-raisers. The very day after the failed veto override vote, Doyle had Sherman at a fund-raiser on Milwaukee's East Side, 370 miles from Sherman's district. That continued all the way up to the election.

Well, Doyle won't have the time to campaign for legislators, as he'll be busy with his own campaign. So any Democrat who flips will be left alone to face the NRA.

Sherman's born-again position on the 2A is laughable. He's using the Wisconsin Gun Owners talking points while at the same time taking money from anti-gun groups.

 

[jefmad]

Monkeyleg while I understand what you are saying. Most legislators won't think that hard about what Sherman went through to get re-elected they will just see that he WAS re-elected.

 

[Standing Wolf]

Given that public opinion is somewhat skeptical, 'may' would give local law enforcement some authority to issue at their discretion.

Only friends, relatives, aristocrats, and big campaign contributors would so-called "quality," just like in much of the People's Republic of California. Sounds more like the old Soviet Union to me.

 

[Monkeyleg]

jefmad, most legislators do take into consideration how hard their next election will be.

Wisconsin legislators don't have to work that hard to gain re-election. It's the nature of WI politics: once a legislator is entrenched, the more difficult it becomes to oust him.

And unseating an established legislator is a very difficult task. It takes more time, money and family support than 99.9% of the population is willing to devote.

So, don't underestimate how Dem legislators are looking back on Sherman's battle. My guess is that they're weighing the cost of the fight to defend siding with Doyle versus the cost of siding with their gun owner constituents.

Sherman's fight to stay in office is one of our strongest cards. Let's use it to every advantage.