Contact: G. Stuart Ewy, 608.266.8535
Madison – Today State Senator Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee) announced that he has introduced a bill to make it harder for accomplices to get guns for criminal felons.
“In order to keep guns out of the hands of criminal felons who are forbidden to have them, I have re-introduced a bill to make it a felony to “straw purchase” a gun for such a felon. The bill now additionally makes it a felony to intentionally possess a firearm for a criminal felon,” said Carpenter.
“Straw purchasing – knowingly purchasing a firearm with the intent to transfer it to someone who could not pass a background check due to being a felon, is a national problem. This issue has been well covered as a problem in Milwaukee, and this bill will make it unambiguously a felony under Wisconsin state law” said Carpenter.
A “human-holster” is the way that law enforcement describes an increasingly common and dangerous scenario where during a crime someone intentionally “holds” a firearm for a criminal felon. The person not prohibited from possessing a firearm – the human holster – knowingly holds the gun for the felon for a specific reason: the maximum sanction for the human holster currently is only a misdemeanor (for carrying a concealed weapon without a license). Under this change in the law, being an intentional human holster will be a felony.
“I will continue to fight to give law enforcement the tools they need keep our neighborhoods safe. Sanctions for helping get criminals guns should be severe enough that those asked to be straw purchasers and human holsters will think it is just not worth the risk,” said Carpenter.
Senator Carpenter’s press releases are available for review at http://legis.wisconsin.gov/senate/carpenter/PressReleases/
