State still split along party lines on guns
MADISON - As the U.S. Senate mulls legislation to expand background checks for all gun purchasers, supporters of the idea likely won’t get support from Wisconsin’s GOP delegation.
Sen. Ron Johnson on Wednesday expressed deep suspicion of requiring background checks in more instances, and Wisconsin’s five Republican members of the House voted against such a plan in February.
Those members of Congress in recent days have declined to answer questions from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about whether they believe Congress should do anything to try to prevent mass shootings like those that occurred last weekend in Ohio and Texas.
Since the shootings, President Donald Trump has called for more background checks and red-flag laws that would allow people’s firearms to be taken from them if a court determined they were dangerous. On Wednesday, Trump told reporters he wanted to approve “background checks like we’ve never had before,” according to the Washington Post.
However, his message has been inconsistent. In February, the White House threatened to veto the House legislation on background checks over concerns they would interfere with the Second Amendment right to bear arms.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky on Thursday said he was willing to consider expanding background checks, telling a home-state radio station, “What we can’t do is fail to pass something.” He
said the issue would be “front and center” and asked both parties to try to find common ground on what has been a divisive issue.
But if McConnell tries to advance background check legislation, he will likely have divisions in his own party.
Johnson told the Journal Sentinel that the existing background check system “hasn’t prevented these tragedies” and he saw little reason to extend background checks to sales at gun shows and online. Of such a proposal, he said, “I just really don’t think it’s going to move the needle in terms of effectiveness.”
Like most Democrats, Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin is on the other side of the issue. She has urged Senate leaders to quickly take up the House legislation on background checks.
She also supports red-flag legislation, a ban on rapid-fire weapons, increased federal research into gun violence and more funding for school security and mental health treatment.
On the background check legislation, Wisconsin’s House delegation split on party lines in February.
The Democrats — Kind, Gwen Moore of Milwaukee and Mark Pocan of rural Dane County — voted for it. The Republicans — Sean Duffy of Wausau, Mike Gallagher of Green Bay, Glenn Grothman of Glenbeulah, Jim Sensenbrenner of Menomonee Falls and Bryan Steil of Janesville — voted against it.
In recent days, Kind and the five House Republicans did not answer questions about whether they supported red-flag laws, banning more rapidfire weapons or providing more funding for mental health or security upgrades at schools.
Gallagher signed onto a bill Thursday that would have more databases consulted during background checks, according to his office. Kind has also signed onto that bill.
Also, Gallagher, Sensenbrenner and Steil have signed onto a bill that would establish a new center to coordinate research on mass violence.
Pocan and Moore said they back a ban on what they call assault weapons. Pocan also called for red-flag laws and a ban on high-capacity magazines.
But the Democrats put most of their emphasis on expanded background checks — an idea Republicans began to talk about after years of resisting the idea.
“Much to the frustration of myself and my Democratic colleagues, Mitch McConnell continues to block this legislation from even getting a vote on the Senate floor,” Moore said in a statement.