“I just don’t feel like it makes sense.” Compelling argument, isn’t it?
Yesterday, the Wisconsin State Senate convened in an attempt to override Governor Doyle’s veto of the Personal Protection Act, which has become one of the most controversial issues facing our state legislature the past two sessions. While proponents of this legislation based their arguments on years of crime statistics and facts, opponents relied on gut instincts, such as the above quote, to argue their dissent.
About four months ago, I wrote a similar column about this very issue in which I stated that Wisconsin is one of only five states that does not allow its citizens to carry concealed weapons for their protection. It turns out that this statistic is now outdated. As Ohio’s state legislature recently approved similar legislation, Wisconsin remains one of just four states without such self-protection laws.
This fall, the Wisconsin Senate passed the PPA with two votes more than a two-thirds majority, and the Assembly approved it with a nearly identical level of support.
It still puzzles me how legislation with such broad approval in our state government and across the nation can still be regarded as controversial.
This bill is designed for responsible citizens that will not risk breaking the law even to protect themselves and their families. This concealed-carry legislation will give these law-abiding citizens a means to protect themselves. It has been drafted and refined over several legislative sessions to garner as much support as possible from a wide variety of groups and to ensure that firearms end up in the hands of responsible citizens and not criminals.
This bill has been crafted more carefully than most others. In fact, it is much more restrictive than the one introduced in previous legislative sessions. That is why I find it curious that some Democrats who voted in favor of previous versions of the PPA would now side with the governor on the more restrictive bill, claiming that it doesn’t go far enough.
It should rightfully appear that the only answer is politics. But these politicians seem to be using these partisan games to their disadvantage. By ignoring the wishes of their constituents, as well as the facts of the bill, these representatives are risking their careers.
While I must agree that almost any issue has two sides, this is one in which opponents just cannot successfully back up their claims.
In every state that passed concealed-carry legislation, challengers argued their state would devolve into the “Wild West.” Do some research and try to discover: Out of 46 states, in how many that has really happened? Actually, I’ll make it easy for you: The answer is zero.
If this law is so terrible and dangerous, it must have been repealed in some states, right? Again, no states with concealed-carry laws have repealed them. We have seen these laws work in 46 out of 46 states. That is far better odds than you will ever get at a Flip Night at Brats.
You may also hear people say, “It makes me nervous to know that people could be walking around with concealed weapons. They might fall into the wrong hands.”
I find this to be the biggest argument in favor of the PPA, because right now, people are walking around with concealed weapons, and you know what? These weapons are guaranteed to be in the wrong hands, because our citizens cannot legally carry them. Over 736,500 concealed-carry permits have been issued in Florida alone, and only .02 percent of these have been revoked for any type of firearms offense. This figure pales in comparison to the number of lives that have almost certainly been saved as a result of this legislation.
On its face, the arguments against the PPA may seem to make sense. However, this is only because such arguments play on emotion and fear instead of fact and reason. Here is my challenge to you: Before you yield to these baseless disputes, please take a look at the research and facts.
As I write this column, the fate of the Personal Protection Act remains undecided. Months ago, Senate leadership agreed that the override vote for this legislation would take place on the first day of the new legislative session, which was yesterday. However, although dozens of citizens made time to be present for the vote, Senate Democrats decided to waste the people of Wisconsin’s time and stall this vote.
The only explanation in my mind is that these Democrats were unsuccessful in swaying their colleagues to side with the governor in his decision to veto this crucial legislation. I hope, for the citizens of Wisconsin and all that have poured their energy into this bill, that I am right.
Nicole Marklein ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in political science.