TAKE ACTION: Stop Gun Violence in Wisconsin

Our elected leaders have the power to pass laws that reduce gun deaths and violence in our state.

Gun violence is a women’s health issue and a domestic abuse issue. More than 50% of intimate partner homicide victims in American are killed by males with a gun, and in over 50% of mass shootings the victims were intimate partners or family members. The presence of a gun in domestic violence situations can increase the risk of homicide for women by as much as 500 percent.

We need our legislators to pass laws that will reduce gun deaths and violence in Wisconsin and make our schools, churches and public places safer. Governor Evers has made it clear that he supports gun legislation reform and would sign meaningful legislation into law. Public support is firmly behind smart measures to curb violence, including universal background checks.

Use this form to urge your legislators to support the following pieces of proposed legislation:

Wisconsin’s needs to enact Universal Background Check legislation which has been proven to save women’s lives. In states that have universal background checks, women are 46% less likely to be shot to death by intimate partners. A 2018 poll showed that the vast majority, a whopping  81% of Wisconsin voters are in favor of background checks, including 78% of gun-owning households, Assembly Bill 431would close Wisconsin’s current loopholes currently don’t require a background check when guns are purchased at a gun show or via a private seller.
 
Assembly Bill 334 would prohibit individuals convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence from possessing a firearm and possession of a firearm by people found not guilty due to mental disease or defect. Given the documented nexus between domestic abuse and gun homicides, this legislation is crucial to protect lives.
 
Senate Bill 312, would restore Wisconsin’s 48-hour waiting period for handgun purchases. Wisconsin had a waiting period on the books until 2015, when the Wisconsin legislature eliminated the requirement that a federally licensed firearm dealer wait 48 hours to transfer a handgun. Research has shown that waiting periods can reduce gun homicides by 17% and gun suicides by  7-11%.