(MADISON) – In light of the rash of shootings in Milwaukee and the nation over the weekend, Senator Lena C. Taylor (D-Milwaukee) released the following statement:
“In October 2021, Governor Tony Evers called for a special session to address gun violence in Wisconsin. Those calls were ignored by state republicans. Today, gun violence is worse. As legislators, we are either going to be a part of the solution or accept our share of blame for enabling the problem.
Finger wagging and personal responsibility chants mean nothing. Talking about what goes on in the streets, while ignoring what goes on in state houses, doesn’t work either. Legislative policies that weaken existing gun laws, lowers the age of gun ownership, or that remove red flags rules on gun possession are certainly apart of the problem. While I support responsible gun ownership, I do not condone lax policies or inflammatory rhetoric. The two behaviors aid in an increase of guns into the wrong hands.
We have people hell-bent on destroying our communities, one another, or anything that is
different. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Morality cannot be legislated, but behavior can be regulated. Judicial decrees may not change the heart, but they can restrain the heartless. So the question becomes, as legislators what is our responsibility in all of this violence. I think our role is bigger than many of my colleagues, both locally and nationally, would ever be willing to admit.”
