WISCONSIN SENATE OVERRIDES RIGHT-TO-CARRY VETO

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WISCONSIN SENATE OVERRIDES RIGHT-TO-CARRY VETO

As reported in last week`s issue of the Grassroots Alert, despite the support of the majority of the legislature, rank-and-file police officers, and the people of Wisconsin, on November 18, Governor Jim Doyle (D) vetoed legislation that would allow law-abiding Wisconsin citizens the Right-to-Carry firearms for protection of themselves and their loved ones.

It is regrettable that Governor Doyle does not trust his law-abiding constituents with the right of self-defense. This is common sense legislation that requires mandatory training, a permit from the sheriff, and a criminal background check. Even polls by Right-to-Carry opponents reveal that a majority of Wisconsinites support this law.

Fortunately, the citizens of Wisconsin can still let their voices be heard on this vitally important issue. On January 22, the State Senate voted to override Governor Doyle`s veto of the 2003 Personal Protection Act. At press time, the State Assembly vote is still pending, but is expected as early as next Tuesday. It is therefore crucial that Wisconsin residents contact their Representatives and respectfully urge them to vote to override the Governor`s veto.

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Close vote expected today on veto override
By LINDA SPICE and STEVEN WALTERS
[e-mail]
Posted: Jan. 27, 2004

With a historic veto override and Gov. Jim Doyle's political credibility on the line Tuesday, pro- and anti-gun forces raised their voices Monday to try to swing a close Assembly vote in their favor.

Both groups could agree on only one thing: that today's vote is too close to call.

If Doyle's veto is sustained, it would keep intact a 19-year run during which no Wisconsin governor has been overridden by the Legislature. It would also be a major political victory for Doyle, who has found himself at odds with Republican lawmakers repeatedly during his first year in office.

If Assembly Republicans win the two-thirds vote needed to override, they would deal a stunning defeat to Doyle, who has used all of his political might to derail the measure.

An override today means the measure will become law, adding Wisconsin to the 46 states that already allow concealed weapons.

Close vote
"I don't ever predict anything," Doyle said, "but we'll have the vote and see which way it goes."

The measure rests in the hands of a few legislators who aren't saying how they will vote, said Darren LaSorte, the National Rifle Association official who has supervised the push for the Wisconsin law.

The Assembly drama was created when the state Senate voted 23-10 last week to override the governor's veto of the concealed weapons bill, which both houses passed last fall. Five of 15 Senate Democratic senators broke with the governor to overturn his veto, throwing a final decision to the Assembly.

A 66-vote Assembly majority - two more votes than the bill got in November - will be needed to force the bill into law. Republicans control the Assembly, 59-39, with one seat vacant.

Although Doyle repeatedly has noted that 65 of the state's sheriffs oppose the bill, law enforcement officers appeared on both sides of the issue Monday in Cudahy.

Fourteen police, sheriff and State Patrol officers went first, standing at Doyle's side.

"The vote tomorrow will decide whether we allow lethal weapons into the YMCA, into the crowded shopping malls where our kids are, at rock concerts and movie theaters, at the State Fair and even on playgrounds," Doyle said.

As he spoke, a similarly sized group of officers appeared under the auspices of the Wisconsin Pro-Gun Movement, headed by director James Fendry.

Waukesha County Sheriff Daniel Trawicki noted he was one of only three sheriffs who publicly support the bill. He said that officers are trained to expect those they approach in traffic stops could be armed.

"That's not going to change," he said. "The bad people who carry guns are still going to carry guns. What is going to change is there are people who can protect themselves and can protect other people will begin doing that."

Nonetheless, Doyle noted: "I don't think anybody can argue where the vast majority of law enforcement is on this issue."

Heavy opposition
He said that among those opposed to the measure are the Badger State Sheriffs Association, the Wisconsin Chiefs of Police Association, the Wisconsin Sheriffs and Deputy Sheriffs Association, the Wisconsin District Attorneys Association, the Wisconsin County Police Association, the Association of State Prosecutors and the Wisconsin Troopers' Association.

The Wisconsin Chiefs of Police Association is urging the Assembly to uphold the governor's veto because the measure would "put law enforcement and the public at risk," said Brown Deer Police ChiefSteve Rinzel, a former president of the group.

"Stopping crime should be left to law enforcement officials. I would not want my family to be around if someone with a concealed weapon and minimal training gets into a shootout with a dangerous criminal. This bill will not do anything to control crime, but it will make it harder for law enforcement to do their job."

Other groups and people who denounced the concealed weapons bill Monday included the Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee; the Wisconsin Council of Churches; and Elizabeth Burmaster, state superintendent of public instruction.

Comments create controversy
Fendry said that the day showed that the law enforcement community is divided on the issue. He noted that the state Supreme Court in a ruling last year asked that the Legislature clarify state law on the issue.

"There are many judges, some of the rent collectors in the city of Milwaukee and a long litany of other people who feel that this bill is needed because they need to have firearms on their person to be able to protect themselves," Fendry said.

Fendry stirred up emotions after making comments regarding the history of the concealed carry law in the state.

"You can look back and look at documents at what brought about the ban," Fendry said.

Fendry suggested that the 130-year-old ban on concealed weapons grew out of concerns by white people after the end of the Civil War and an effort to deny blacks the right to carry weapons.

"They were frightened of African-Americans," Fendry said later. "They didn't want them to have guns."

Fendry made his public comments after Doyle spoke, and at one point, Fendry was interrupted by Heidi Rattner, director of Justice Programs at the Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee. She said Fendry's comments were "racist."

Responding later, Fendry said, "I would tend to think when we're defending the rights of everybody to equal access it could hardly be racist."

State Rep. Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee) said the concealed weapons bill is not a racial issue and added, "If someone wants to be the advocate for the black community and the injustices that exist within the black community, could they please start with the 50 percent dropout rate that exists within Milwaukee Public Schools, or could they start with the lack of economic development in the community or just the economic injustices, differences that exist, or the poverty issue?"