Please Contact Your State Representative Today!
This Thursday, April 14, the Wisconsin State Assembly will be considering legislation (Assembly Bill 558, Assembly Bill 559, and Assembly Bill 737) that could have a severely detrimental impact on our Second Amendment freedoms. Please contact your State Representative immediately and urge them to oppose all three of these bills. To find contact information for your State Representative, please click here.
AB558 would expand the definition of “misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence” well beyond the scope of current federal law in order to create a new class of people who would be stripped of their Second Amendment rights.
Law enforcement agencies already have the tools to prosecute these crimes and they are clearly spelled out in Wisconsin statutes. A sweeping new definition is not the solution. The current definition of domestic violence under state law is already broader than federal law and this bill will add more types of relationships to it.
The second bill, AB559, is a blatant violation of Americans' Fifth Amendment rights. The bill would require an individual who is subject to a protective order to appear before a court and reveal all the firearms that he or she owns or possesses. It would also require people in this situation to turn the guns over either to a law enforcement agency or to a third party. People in this situation would have no immunity from prosecution for the laws they might be forced to admit violating.
Finally, AB737 would create a new level of bureaucracy by adding several new types of hunting licenses to an already confusing licensing system. The legislation is intended to somehow prevent felons from purchasing hunting licenses, but in reality it will only complicate the process for law-abiding hunters. Hunting license sales have been steadily declining for years and this bill will only further deter new hunters. Felons who are willing to violate State and Federal laws by illegally possessing a firearm will pay no attention to a fines imposed by this bill. Simply put, AB737 is a solution in search of a problem.
There is good news for the Badger State, however. Assembly Bill 193, the Castle Doctrine legislation has been scheduled for consideration on Thursday. Under this bill, if a person used defensive force that was intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm, the court must presume that the person reasonably believed that the force was necessary. While the Wisconsin State Constitution already recognizes self-defense as a guaranteed right, this bill would further clarify it. Please contact your State Representative and respectfully urge them to support AB193. Contact information for your State Representative can be found by clicking here.
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