Democratic lawmakers are seeking to reinstate Wisconsin's 48-hour handgun purchase waiting period, a proposal facing long odds in the Republican-held Legislature.
In 2015, GOP lawmakers, then in control of the state's government, repealed the handgun waiting period, which had been in place since the 1970s and allowed the state's Department of Justice time to conduct a background check of the purchaser.
Rep. Shelia Stubbs, D-Madison, said in a Wednesday news conference, the waiting period also acted as a guard against impulsive actions.
"Allowing purchases of firearms to be done on a whim opens the door to impulsive decisions, to result in terrible consequences," Stubbs asserted.
Since the pandemic began, Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee has reported treating an "unprecedented number of patients for gunshot wounds." The bill is unlikely to pass the Legislature, as Republican lawmakers have repeatedly introduced legislation to loosen gun-control laws. Those proposals have been rejected by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.
The proposal was introduced on the six-year anniversary of the murder of Caroline Nosal, who was shot and killed outside the grocery story where she worked on Madison's east side.
Dr. James Nosal, her father, said the 48-hour waiting period might have been enough to cause her killer, a former co-worker, to reconsider his plan.
"I'm not going to stand here and tell you that I can guarantee that a 48-hour waiting period would have saved my daughter's life," Nosal acknowledged. "But it might have given a troubled young man some time to get over his anger that he had lost his job because of his despicable behavior at work, and not because my daughter reported it."
Sen. Melissa Agard, D-Madison, hopes the bill will serve as a starting point for a broader discussion about gun control in Wisconsin.
"We know that it's not one piece of legislation that is going to solve the epidemic of gun violence in Wisconsin, but we need to start somewhere," Agard contended. "And this is a pragmatic solution."
According to a 2020 report from the state's Department of Health Services, nearly half of all recorded suicides from 2013 to 2017 were from a firearm. The same report noted the suicide rate in rural counties was slightly higher than in suburban and urban counties.
Support for this reporting was provided by The Carnegie Corporation of New York.
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Support for Governor Tony Evers's first statewide Office of Violence Prevention is gaining momentum, as some safety experts and advocates say they're hopeful it'll save lives. Reggie Moore heads community safety at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He formerly led Milwaukee's violence prevention office during a critical period following a 70-percent increase in homicides in 2015. He believes people understand the intent and potential for offices like these.
"The fact that cities are getting smarter on crime and the impact that these types of interventions can have in addressing violence before it happens, I think is something that people understand that we should be doing."
He says that starts with a public health approach to preventing gun violence. It's that approach, he adds, that contributed to Milwaukee's four-year decline in homicides and nonfatal shootings beginning in 2016. He adds that was one of the biggest declines in the country at the time.
While violence prevention offices are not new, larger investments in them are. Moore says in 2016, when he started leading the Milwaukee office, few existed. Now, he says there are more than seventy across the country. Moore says the historic levels of federal investments is promising, since law enforcement can't and shouldn't do this work alone.
"For hundreds of years the country has taken a criminal justice approach solely to this issue, but understanding the fact that this is also a public health crisis, and hearing the governor declare this the year of the kid, I think it's timely given the fact that since 2020 gun violence has become the leading cause of death of children."
Earlier this month, Governor Evers announced he's directing 10-million dollars to the Office of Violence Prevention. The funds are from the American Rescue Plan Act and will provide grants to school districts, law enforcement agencies and nonprofits to help reduce gun violence. It's still unclear whether the Trump administration will impact federal funds for programs like these.
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President Donald Trump has been busy signing executive orders since his inauguration.
Gun violence prevention advocates in Minnesota hope he isn't aggressive in undoing recent work to keep communities safer.
The White House website for the Office of Gun Violence Prevention, created under the Biden administration, recently went dark.
Staffers insist sudden online changes are a formality as they retool under new leadership, hinting that landing pages for key topics will be restored.
But Maggiy Emery, executive director of the group Protect Minnesota, said she doesn't feel reassured much of the office's mission will be maintained.
"We were finally seeing some of those rates of gun violence go down," said Emery, "you know, especially here in Minnesota."
Gun violence deaths in Minnesota were down 5% in 2023, the last year for available numbers.
And the national Brady organization credits the Office of Gun Violence Prevention for supporting the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms in shutting down more than 800 rogue gun dealers in the U.S.
While the future is uncertain for this White House initiative, Trump has dismantled a new school safety committee that included parents of school shooting victims.
Trump administration officials say they want to prioritize national security matters.
But Emery said despite recent progress, gun violence is still a public health crisis in the U.S.
She added that the initiative under President Joe Biden was bringing to light how rural areas affected.
"We know that the Office of Violence Prevention on the federal level was looking at what can we do to reduce rates of gun violence," said Emery, "not only in urban areas, but in rural areas where folks are really the most impacted in Minnesota. You know, guidances and legislation around safe storage is now looking more unlikely."
More than 70% of gun deaths in Minnesota are from suicides, and Emery said most are in rural areas.
If federal solutions fall by the wayside, she said she hopes Minnesota lawmakers pass a state law for safe gun storage this year.
In Trump's first term, bump stocks - the rapid-fire gun accessories - were banned. However, the U.S. Supreme Court later struck down that order.
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In Mississippi's capital, once dubbed "America's Deadliest City," a new initiative in Jackson seeks to turn the tide on violence through collaboration and a public health approach. The Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery was introduced in 2022 as a response to surging crime rates, with Jackson recording 156 homicides in 2021.
Keisha Coleman, executive director of the Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery, is using her 25 years of experience in violence prevention and intervention to help the office take a broader approach, rather than focusing solely on traditional policing.
"The main goal was to change the narrative of public safety to let people know that it's not just about policing and prosecution, but it's also about community engagement, community strengthening and rebuilding the community through a lens of public health," she said.
The office is relatively new and plans to ramp up rapidly. It emphasizes a "Community Violence Intervention Ecosystem," bringing together organizations that tackle mental health, substance abuse, workforce development and re-entry programs.
The office is also forming partnerships with Jackson Public Schools and Child Protective Services to address the needs of children in state custody who are at higher risk of involvement with the justice system. Coleman said these collaborations aim to close systemic gaps and create a more supportive environment for youth.
"We can't just say, hey, you know, that's a bad idea, don't shoot," she explained. "Take the gun, but leave them with no other options no other services, no other resources. So the office of violence prevention wants to make sure that there are services for individuals who are likely to shoot guns or be victims of gun shootings."
One of the office's most promising partnerships is with the University of Mississippi Medical Center, the state's only Level 1 trauma hospital. Together, they are developing a hospital-based intervention program. According to Coleman, the medical center will fund community-based case management for gunshot victims and their families, helping them transition from trauma care to resources that address the root causes of violence.
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