Dozens of Madison public school leaders and students, county officials and state representatives all packed behind a podium today asking for gun control.
They want Republicans to crack down on firearms after the deadly Florida school shooting earlier this month.
The county has nearly 5,000 signatures on a petition demanding action from Governor Scott Walker and House Speaker Paul Ryan.
The petition signers are asking for mandatory universal background checks, a ban on assault weapons, a ban on bump stocks and banning people subject to domestic violence protection orders from buying guns.
Ryan was in Waukesha over the weekend speaking at a Republican event and responded to nationwide calls for gun control.
“It’s important that we get to the bottom of this and that we fix this while preserving citizen’s rights.”
Now, Democrats and MMSD leaders want Walker to call a special session to get the Legislature to pass those bills and are asking Ryan to demand the federal government make them a priority.
Dane County Executive Joe Parisi says “Governor Walker and Speaker Ryan are two of the most powerful people in the nation. They have the power to make a difference in the gun violence epidemic. So far, they have done nothing.”
Democrats have introduced bills that would accomplish those goals, but they haven’t gotten much attention from the GOP.
Democrats in the Assembly called on Walker in a letter today to enact a fourth special session this legislative season to pass those bills. Assembly leaders said last week they were done passing bills for the year.
A showdown on the Assembly floor last week turned into an hours-long debate about procedural rules. It ended with the chamber passing a bill that would crack down on straw gun purchases, but Democrats aren’t satisfied.
Representative Chris Taylor says she and her colleagues won’t stop penning gun control bills until they see serious reform.
