Evers backs bump-stock ban, opposes UW expulsion policy

MADISON - State schools Superintendent Tony Evers Tuesday backed gun control measures in the wake of the Las Vegas shooting and opposed relaxed state mining rules and an expulsion policy for University of Wisconsin students who disrupt campus events.

Evers, who is running in the Democratic primary to challenge GOP Gov. Scott Walker, appeared at a luncheon sponsored by the website WisPolitics.com.

Pointing to the Las Vegas mass shooting that killed 59 and left more than 520 injured, Evers called for additional gun control measures. That included heightened background checks on gun buyers, a registry of gun owners and a ban on so-called bump stocks that can allow semiautomatic rifles to fire at something approaching the rate of automatic rifles.

The Las Vegas shooter reportedly had two rifles outfitted with bump stocks, a legal modification, among his arsenal.

“We should ban that,” Evers said of those devices, noting the size of the death toll in Las Vegas. “That’s insanity. I think the public gets it, and they want some change, and I think this is an appropriate time to do that.”

Evers, a member of the UW Board of Regents, said he opposed a proposal before the board to first suspend and then expel students who disrupt the freedom of speech of others.

“That’s wrong absolutely,” Evers said of disrupting campus speeches. “But I don’t think it’s the Board of Regents’ job to be doling out specific penalties. … I think we can trust our chancellors and faculty to handle this. I’m fearful we will be speech police in reverse, and on the altar of freedom of speech we’ll be sacrificing freedom of speech.”

Conservatives say the rules are important to protect the First Amendment rights of campus speakers on the right.

Evers also said he opposed a bill to eliminate a moratorium on socalled sulfide mining — a type of mining that can pollute surface and groundwater when water washes off acidic rock deposits.

“I think what we have now is just fine,” Evers said.

Evers noted that the law does give companies that want to develop sulfide mines in Wisconsin a way to move forward. To do it, they must demonstrate that another mine in the United States has been able to operate for 10 years and be closed for 10 years without polluting groundwater and surface water.

The bill’s Republican sponsors say it would bring jobs to rural areas. State GOP spokesman Alec Zimmerman said Evers “doesn’t have the skills needed” to build the state’s economy.

“Evers represents the same failed policies of yesterday that hurt Wisconsin’s families and businesses,” Zimmerman said.

The other Democrats who have committed to a run against Walker include: Milwaukee businessman Andy Gronik; trial attorney and state Rep. Dana Wachs of Eau Claire; Sen. Kathleen Vinehout of Alma; and campaign finance and ethics activist Mike McCabe.