Contact: Rep. Chris Taylor, 608-266-5342
MADISON – Today, Assembly Democrats gathered with local leaders, including Dane County Executive Joe Parisi, Madison Metropolitan School District Superintendent Jennifer Cheatham, and Madison School Board President James Howard, in calling on Governor Scott Walker to convene a special session on common-sense gun safety legislation, including universal background checks. Last week, despite the support of 90% of the public, Assembly Republicans spent hours engaging in procedural maneuvers to block the consideration of the Democratic bill to require universal background checks. In the end, Republicans prohibited the proposal from being considered.
“How many children will be massacred before Governor Walker and legislative leaders will act?” stated Rep. Chris Taylor (D-Madison), who spoke at the press conference. “How many more communities and families will be devastated? How many more young lives will be needlessly lost and hearts broken? The time to act was a long time ago. It’s too late for the children murdered at Sandy Hook and Marjory Stoneman Douglas. It’s too late for the 7 children, on average, who were murdered by guns yesterday. But it’s not too late for our children playing on the playground today, or sitting right now in their classrooms. We must act now. Republican policy makers must shake-off the death grip of the NRA and act for the safety of our children and communities. There are no more excuses,” concluded Rep. Taylor.
Specifically, Assembly Democrats called on the Governor at the press conference and in a letter delivered today to schedule a special session on the following bills, which have been sitting in committee all session:
- Assembly Bill 65/Senate Bill 34: Institutes universal background checks
- Assembly Bill 597/Senate Bill 563: Prohibits individuals convicted of a domestic violence misdemeanor from possessing a firearm
- Assembly Bill 616: Prohibits the sale, manufacture, transfer, use or possession of bump stocks
“Though these pieces of legislation will not prevent every murder, they are common-sense first steps to preventing dangerous people from getting guns,” stated Rep. Taylor. “There are mentally ill people in every country, yet we are the most deadly developed country in the world with a homicide rate twenty times the average. We can take many steps now to stop the carnage—our communities and children are depending on us.”
