Irish
04-14-10, 12:32
Wisconsin residents should be worried according to this article. http://www.lakelandtimes.com/main.asp?SectionID=9&SubSectionID=9&ArticleID=11229
A fast-tracked bill introduced in the state Legislature at the end of March would ban the private sale of most firearms in Wisconsin and would for the first time extend a prohibition on the possession of firearms to those convicted of certain misdemeanors.
State Sen. Spencer Coggs (D-Milwaukee) and Rep. Tony Staskunas (D-West Allis) are the principal authors of the legislation, which received public hearings in both the Senate and Assembly this past week.
The bill would essentially require all firearm transfers to be conducted through a federally licensed firearms dealer, except transfers to family members, law enforcement and military agencies.
Specifically, according to an analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau, the legislation prohibits the sale or transfer of any firearm unless one of five conditions applies. That is, the sale or transfer must be by a federally licensed firearms dealer or the sale or transfer is to or through a firearms dealer, or the transfer is by gift, bequest, or inheritance to a family member, or is intended to be temporary and the purpose of the transfer is not illegal.
Finally, a sale or transfer may be made if a waiting period does not apply, such as for the transfer of firearms classified as antiques, or transfers between firearms dealers or between wholesalers and dealers, or transfers of any firearm to law enforcement or armed services agencies.
Under the proposed statute, family member means a spouse, parent, grandparent, sibling, child, or grandchild. The relationship may be by blood, marriage, or adoption.
In addition, while current law prohibits a person from possessing a firearm if he or she has been convicted of a felony, this bill would prohibit a person from possessing a firearm if he or she has been convicted of a "violent nonfelony offense" unless five years have passed since the conviction.
Such offenses include misdemeanor battery, misdemeanor harassment, misdemeanor endangering safety by use of a dangerous weapon, exposing genitals to a child, violations of a domestic abuse, child abuse, or harassment temporary restraining order or injunction, and misdemeanors for which the maximum term of imprisonment has been increased for use of a dangerous weapon when committing the misdemeanor.
Way out there
The National Rifle Association says the proposed legislation is an infringement of the Second Amendment rights of Wisconsin citizens.
"These proposals contain outrageously hostile language which would put unconstitutional restrictions on firearm transactions and transfers at gun shows," the NRA stated on its website. "Gun control advocates refer to this legislation as a fix for the 'gun show loophole,' the scare tactic created by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to push his anti-gun agenda. (As) in most cases with state legislation and Bloomberg's federal legislation regarding closing this 'loophole,' the bill goes way beyond that and provides many unconstitutional restrictions on law abiding citizens."
The problem for Wisconsin is that Bloomberg has found a sympathetic ear with Milwaukee's mayor and some Milwaukee legislators who have been misled by his false statements and rhetoric, the NRA stated.
The NRA said the proposals do more than close a gun-show loophole.
"These proposals go way beyond gun shows though, and frankly attack many personal freedoms," the NRA stated. "These proposals would require that all firearm transfers be conducted through a federally licensed dealer,except to family members. That means if you wanted to sell your firearm to a friend, you would have to find a federally licensed dealer and pay whatever transfer fees they felt appropriate."
The organization also points out that all firearms transfers would have to be reported and all guns registered into a centralized database without establishing who has access to the database.
According to the legislation, before any firearm is transferred, the person receiving the firearm must provide identification to the firearms dealer and the firearms dealer must complete a notification form listing his or her name, his or her contact information, and information to identify the firearm and convey the information on the form to the Department of Justice.
Including information to identify all firearms, and not just handguns, would create a registration database similar to Canada's long gun registry, which that country is on the verge of dismantling. The difference would be that only guns involved in sales or transfers after the effective date of the law would be included.
Finally, the NRA took issue with the constitutionality of applying possession restrictions to those convicted of misdemeanors.
"This provision is a blatant constitutional violation," the NRA stated. "In Heller v. D.C., the ruling states that only felony convictions are justified in restricting this constitutionally guaranteed right."
For his part, state Sen. Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend) has criticized he process by which the bill's supporters are moving it along. Grothman has called the effort "a rush to the finish line" to pass bills targeting Second Amendment rights.
Closing the loophole
The bill's authors and its supporters say criminal background checks are needed for all sales or transfers of firearms; the bill would accomplish that by outlawing most private sales, and extending the current required background check for handgun purchases to all firearms.
Under current law, a criminal background check must be conducted on the prospective purchaser when a handgun is purchased from a federally licensed gun dealer, says Jeri Bonavia, the executive director of Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort (WAVE), while no such background check is performed when guns are sold by unlicensed gun sellers or private individuals.
"It's as though we are saying to the bad guys, 'Do you want to go through security screening or not? It's your choice,'" Bonavia said. "What if we used this kind of optional system at an airport and let passengers decide whether or not they wanted to go through security? I don't think anyone would believe for a second that it could work. Not surprisingly, optional security doesn't work for gun purchasing either."
Bonavia said approximately, 30,000 U.S. citizens, including 450 Wisconsin residents, are killed by gunfire every year.
The bill's authors say the legislation has broad public support, even among members of the NRA, and would put a stop to the private "straw" sale of guns at guns shows and garage sales.
"Gun violence is arguably the most significant threat to the safety of urban residents in the United States of America," Coggs and Staskunas wrote in a March 15 memo to fellow lawmakers. "According to a nationwide poll conducted by conservative political consultant and Fox News commentator Frank Luntz, 69 percent of National Rifle Association members and 85 percent of non-NRA gun-owners support 'requiring all gun sellers at gun shows to conduct criminal background checks of the people buying guns.'"
They also cited a survey by WAVE claiming that 84 percent of likely voters in Wisconsin agreed with the statement that "anyone who buys a gun should be required to have a background check done by a licensed gun dealer to make sure they have no criminal record."
The national survey they cited was performed on behalf of Mayors Against Illegal Guns by Luntz's polling firm, the Word Doctors, Nov. 25 to Dec. 2, 2009, and, according to the mayors' group, surveyed 401 NRA gun owners and 431 non-NRA gun owners.
Luntz's credibility has been challenged in the past. In 1997, the Executive Council of the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) conducted a 14-month investigation and determined that Luntz violated the Association's Code of Professional Ethics and Practices.
In particular, according to the organization, Luntz repeatedly refused to make public essential facts about his research on public attitudes about the Republicans' "Contract with America," including the wording of questions used in the poll, the disclosure of which AAPOR says is essential to validate a poll's claims.
A fast-tracked bill introduced in the state Legislature at the end of March would ban the private sale of most firearms in Wisconsin and would for the first time extend a prohibition on the possession of firearms to those convicted of certain misdemeanors.
State Sen. Spencer Coggs (D-Milwaukee) and Rep. Tony Staskunas (D-West Allis) are the principal authors of the legislation, which received public hearings in both the Senate and Assembly this past week.
The bill would essentially require all firearm transfers to be conducted through a federally licensed firearms dealer, except transfers to family members, law enforcement and military agencies.
Specifically, according to an analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau, the legislation prohibits the sale or transfer of any firearm unless one of five conditions applies. That is, the sale or transfer must be by a federally licensed firearms dealer or the sale or transfer is to or through a firearms dealer, or the transfer is by gift, bequest, or inheritance to a family member, or is intended to be temporary and the purpose of the transfer is not illegal.
Finally, a sale or transfer may be made if a waiting period does not apply, such as for the transfer of firearms classified as antiques, or transfers between firearms dealers or between wholesalers and dealers, or transfers of any firearm to law enforcement or armed services agencies.
Under the proposed statute, family member means a spouse, parent, grandparent, sibling, child, or grandchild. The relationship may be by blood, marriage, or adoption.
In addition, while current law prohibits a person from possessing a firearm if he or she has been convicted of a felony, this bill would prohibit a person from possessing a firearm if he or she has been convicted of a "violent nonfelony offense" unless five years have passed since the conviction.
Such offenses include misdemeanor battery, misdemeanor harassment, misdemeanor endangering safety by use of a dangerous weapon, exposing genitals to a child, violations of a domestic abuse, child abuse, or harassment temporary restraining order or injunction, and misdemeanors for which the maximum term of imprisonment has been increased for use of a dangerous weapon when committing the misdemeanor.
Way out there
The National Rifle Association says the proposed legislation is an infringement of the Second Amendment rights of Wisconsin citizens.
"These proposals contain outrageously hostile language which would put unconstitutional restrictions on firearm transactions and transfers at gun shows," the NRA stated on its website. "Gun control advocates refer to this legislation as a fix for the 'gun show loophole,' the scare tactic created by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to push his anti-gun agenda. (As) in most cases with state legislation and Bloomberg's federal legislation regarding closing this 'loophole,' the bill goes way beyond that and provides many unconstitutional restrictions on law abiding citizens."
The problem for Wisconsin is that Bloomberg has found a sympathetic ear with Milwaukee's mayor and some Milwaukee legislators who have been misled by his false statements and rhetoric, the NRA stated.
The NRA said the proposals do more than close a gun-show loophole.
"These proposals go way beyond gun shows though, and frankly attack many personal freedoms," the NRA stated. "These proposals would require that all firearm transfers be conducted through a federally licensed dealer,except to family members. That means if you wanted to sell your firearm to a friend, you would have to find a federally licensed dealer and pay whatever transfer fees they felt appropriate."
The organization also points out that all firearms transfers would have to be reported and all guns registered into a centralized database without establishing who has access to the database.
According to the legislation, before any firearm is transferred, the person receiving the firearm must provide identification to the firearms dealer and the firearms dealer must complete a notification form listing his or her name, his or her contact information, and information to identify the firearm and convey the information on the form to the Department of Justice.
Including information to identify all firearms, and not just handguns, would create a registration database similar to Canada's long gun registry, which that country is on the verge of dismantling. The difference would be that only guns involved in sales or transfers after the effective date of the law would be included.
Finally, the NRA took issue with the constitutionality of applying possession restrictions to those convicted of misdemeanors.
"This provision is a blatant constitutional violation," the NRA stated. "In Heller v. D.C., the ruling states that only felony convictions are justified in restricting this constitutionally guaranteed right."
For his part, state Sen. Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend) has criticized he process by which the bill's supporters are moving it along. Grothman has called the effort "a rush to the finish line" to pass bills targeting Second Amendment rights.
Closing the loophole
The bill's authors and its supporters say criminal background checks are needed for all sales or transfers of firearms; the bill would accomplish that by outlawing most private sales, and extending the current required background check for handgun purchases to all firearms.
Under current law, a criminal background check must be conducted on the prospective purchaser when a handgun is purchased from a federally licensed gun dealer, says Jeri Bonavia, the executive director of Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort (WAVE), while no such background check is performed when guns are sold by unlicensed gun sellers or private individuals.
"It's as though we are saying to the bad guys, 'Do you want to go through security screening or not? It's your choice,'" Bonavia said. "What if we used this kind of optional system at an airport and let passengers decide whether or not they wanted to go through security? I don't think anyone would believe for a second that it could work. Not surprisingly, optional security doesn't work for gun purchasing either."
Bonavia said approximately, 30,000 U.S. citizens, including 450 Wisconsin residents, are killed by gunfire every year.
The bill's authors say the legislation has broad public support, even among members of the NRA, and would put a stop to the private "straw" sale of guns at guns shows and garage sales.
"Gun violence is arguably the most significant threat to the safety of urban residents in the United States of America," Coggs and Staskunas wrote in a March 15 memo to fellow lawmakers. "According to a nationwide poll conducted by conservative political consultant and Fox News commentator Frank Luntz, 69 percent of National Rifle Association members and 85 percent of non-NRA gun-owners support 'requiring all gun sellers at gun shows to conduct criminal background checks of the people buying guns.'"
They also cited a survey by WAVE claiming that 84 percent of likely voters in Wisconsin agreed with the statement that "anyone who buys a gun should be required to have a background check done by a licensed gun dealer to make sure they have no criminal record."
The national survey they cited was performed on behalf of Mayors Against Illegal Guns by Luntz's polling firm, the Word Doctors, Nov. 25 to Dec. 2, 2009, and, according to the mayors' group, surveyed 401 NRA gun owners and 431 non-NRA gun owners.
Luntz's credibility has been challenged in the past. In 1997, the Executive Council of the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) conducted a 14-month investigation and determined that Luntz violated the Association's Code of Professional Ethics and Practices.
In particular, according to the organization, Luntz repeatedly refused to make public essential facts about his research on public attitudes about the Republicans' "Contract with America," including the wording of questions used in the poll, the disclosure of which AAPOR says is essential to validate a poll's claims.