MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin’s Republican legislative leaders showed little interest Tuesday in considering proposals that would require background checks for nearly all gun sales and allow courts to restrict people perceived as threats from having guns.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Democratic legislators have been calling on Republicans to pass the measures in the wake of mass shootings that left 31 people dead over the weekend in Ohio and Texas.
On Tuesday, Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine called for his state’s Legislature to pass a so-called red flag law and universal background checks. Evers made the same call on Monday in Wisconsin, but the response from Republicans who control the Legislature has been muted.
“As we come back for the fall session, our caucus will have discussions around all newly proposed legislation like we always do,” Wisconsin Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said in a statement Tuesday — his first public comments since the shootings that he described as “tragic.”
“Hate and racism have no place in our country,” he said.
Both Fitzgerald and Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos have previously voiced concerns about passing a red flag law, which would allow family members to petition authorities to restrict a mentally ill person’s access to firearms.
“I continue to be fearful of taking away anyone’s constitutional rights through red flag laws,” Vos said in a statement Tuesday.
Neither he nor Fitzgerald addressed universal background checks, which they’ve opposed in the past, or responded to questions about what other measures they may be willing to take up in response to the shootings.
Red flag laws, also known as extreme risk protection orders, are popular with gun control groups and mental health advocates in Wisconsin and nationwide. They have become increasingly popular, with 17 states adopting them, including 12 since the start of 2018.
A gun control group, the Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort Educational Fund, led a coalition that presented lawmakers with a petition this year to pass a red flag law and universal background checks, but Republicans didn’t pass them.
Evers, Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul and lawmakers are all trying to keep the heat on Republicans to act now following the most recent mass shootings. Evers on Monday floated the possibility of calling a special session, saying the Legislature has avoided the issue and not taken it seriously.
“It’s clear the public expects lawmakers to do everything possible to minimize the threat of gun violence in Wisconsin and around the country,” Democratic Assembly Minority Leader Gordon Hintz said in a statement in which he also called for a 48-hour waiting period on gun purchases.
Republicans have taken action in the wake of mass shootings before.
In 2018, then-Gov. Scott Walker called a special session on school safety after a shooting at a Parkland, Florida, high school in which 17 students and staff were killed. In response, the Legislature created a new office within the state Department of Justice to distribute $100 million to schools to make safety upgrades.
Democratic proposals, including universal background checks and a red flag law, were rejected by Republicans then.
