GREEN BAY, WI – Yesterday, Representative Amaad Rivera-Wagner (D-Green Bay), alongside Representative Sheila Stubbs (D-Madison) and a broad coalition of gun safety advocates, introduced a comprehensive legislative package aimed at reducing gun violence in Wisconsin. The proposals are supported by over 80% of Wisconsinites and reflect growing demands for common-sense reform across the political spectrum.
For Rep. Rivera-Wagner, this effort is deeply personal.
“In 2017, someone I love—someone I consider family—was a victim of a mass shooting,” said Rivera-Wagner. “A disgruntled former employee with a history of domestic violence crossed state lines, acquired a firearm, entered the ICU of a hospital serving one of the poorest neighborhoods in the country, and opened fire. My husband and I were the only family close enough to be at the hospital. He survived—but others didn’t. It forever changed his life, and mine. I promised him I would do something. This is one way I’m keeping that promise.”
The proposed legislation includes:
- Universal Background Checks on all gun sales and transfers
- A 72-Hour Waiting Period to prevent impulsive acts of violence and suicide
- Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPO), or “red flag” laws, allowing temporary removal of firearms from individuals in crisis
- A State Ban on Ghost Guns, or untraceable and undetectable firearms
“This legislation isn’t about politics—it’s about public safety, compassion, and prevention,” said Rivera-Wagner. “Suicide is the leading form of gun death in Wisconsin, disproportionately affecting older white men in rural areas areas. In moments of crisis, access to a gun can mean the difference between life and death.”
The bills, part of the #SafeSummer initiative, respond to the seasonal surge in gun violence and the ongoing refusal by legislative leadership to even hold public hearings on widely supported reforms. In past sessions, these proposals were stripped from the state budget by the Joint Finance Committee despite overwhelming public approval.
“Families, doctors, gun owners, teachers, law enforcement officers, and students in Green Bay and across Wisconsin know the cost of inaction,” Rivera-Wagner continued. “It’s time to give these bills the public hearings they deserve.”
