According to the Milwaukee Police Department, 2,420 guns were recovered in 2016, a rate of 407 per 100,000 people. Chicago, a much larger city, recovered guns at a much lower rate of 247 per 100,000 people.
Now, it will be easier to prosecute illegal straw purchasing of firearms after Governor Scott Walker signed my bill to close loopholes in our gun laws. My bills were based on recommendations from the Milwaukee Police Department. Those officers told me they arrest the same offenders over and over again, because criminals were very aware of the loopholes in the law. Thanks to my bill, prosecutors should be able to make gun charges stick and get dangerous criminals off the streets of our communities.
Wisconsin's new gun laws will:
Clarify Straw Purchaser Law: Often, individuals who cannot legally purchase firearms will have someone purchase a firearm on their behalf - also known as "straw purchasing." While it is already illegal to be a straw purchaser, this bill better defines the crime and makes straw purchasing a felony.
Create Mandatory Minimum for Repeat Offenders: Repeat offender convicted of illegally possessing a firearm or committing a crime involving a firearm will receive a mandatory minimum sentence of four years. The bill defines a repeat offender as an individual who has committed three misdemeanors or one felony within a five-year period. These individuals have often committed more serious crimes or crimes with firearms, but plead down to lesser offenses.
Create Penalties for Human Holsters: Another loophole criminals exploit is to have someone else carry the weapon for them. This bill makes it a felony for an individual to provide or possess a firearm for a person who is prohibited from possessing a firearm.
My goal is to make Wisconsin safer. These changes will make it easier for law enforcement to arrest dangerous criminals and keep them off our streets.
