The Assembly failed to override Gov. Doyle’s veto of concealed carry legislation Tuesday, falling one vote short of the two-thirds majority needed for passage.
Legislators voted 65-34 to uphold a veto of legislation that would allow citizens to obtain permits to legally carry weapons in public places. The Senate had previously voted 23-10 to override the veto Jan. 22.
The vote puts to rest a month-long battle within the state legislature over whether Wisconsin’s 130-year-long ban on concealed weapons should be overturned.
Doyle was pleased with the outcome, saying the legislature can now get back to the issues that matter to Wisconsin. Doyle also called the vote “courageous” for ensuring the safety of state citizens against special interests.
“Today’s vote is a victory for law enforcement and safety of our citizens,” Doyle said in a press release Tuesday. “The vote ensures that we will not let lethal weapons into our shopping malls, movie theaters, playgrounds and other public places where our kids would be in danger.”
Supporters of the override, however, considered the vote a failure in ensuring that citizens can exercise their constitutional right to keep and bear arms.
Assembly Speaker John Gard, R-Peshtigo, a proponent of the bill, felt partisan politics succeeded on this particular vote, stating in a press release, “The vote to sustain the governor’s veto of the Personal Protection Act today was a victory for partisanship over principle.”
Republican Assembly leaders rescheduled the vote on the override twice last week, causing several Democrats to accuse them of maneuvering the date to ensure they had enough votes to pass the proposal and enact the concealed carry law.
“Republicans did not have enough votes to override my veto,” Doyle said in a written statement after the Assembly rescheduled the vote last week. “Unfortunately, they did not have the courage to take this vote on schedule in the full light of day.”
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the vote of Rep. Gary Sherman, D-Port Wing, was key in upholding the governor’s veto. Sherman switched his vote from supporting concealed weapons legislation to voting to sustain the veto Tuesday.
Sherman, however, downplayed the importance of his vote in a press release, saying, “I have never been the deciding vote. The original vote on passage had only 64 votes for passage, less than needed to override the governor’s veto.”
The Assembly previously passed the concealed weapons bill 64-35 before Doyle vetoed the legislation.
The gun legislation has been a controversial issue both in the capitol and around the state, leading to threatening e-mails sent to legislators in recent days. Sen. Bob Jauch, D-Poplar, received an e-mail declaring him a “marked man” due to his vote not to override Doyle’s veto.
The Assembly’s failure to override Tuesday maintains a 17-year-long record of the state legislature never successfully overriding a veto by the governor.
Wisconsin is one of four states in the nation that does not have concealed weapons legislation.
