MADISON, Wis. –
WHAT: On Wednesday, over 100 volunteers with the Wisconsin chapter of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both a part of Everytown for Gun Safety, will gather at the Wisconsin State Capitol to urge lawmakers to take action to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers. Currently there are two bills – SB 517 and AB 577 – that have support from both sides of the aisle and would help keep guns out of the hands of convicted domestic abusers and other people with dangerous histories. These bills have not been allowed a public hearing despite sitting in a committee with four co-sponsors of the bills and having both Republican and Democrat sponsors.
There are currently gaps in Wisconsin law that give domestic abusers easy access to guns, and at least
46 women were fatally shot by an intimate partner in Wisconsin between 2013 and 2017. Volunteers will be urging Wisconsin lawmakers to follow the lead of the more than two dozen states that have taken action in recent years to prevent gun violence by passing SB 517 and AB 577.