I noted yesterday morning that the Governor was going to come to Milwaukee and announce an anti-crime initiative. That would be a great thing to do. While most of Milwaukee is relatively safe, there are neighborhoods where people are under siege and desperately need some relief.
It never did happen. Oh, the Governor apparently did come to Milwaukee and posed. But then he just announced some gun control initiatives. I don't have a particular problem with any of them but does anyone really believe that all of them will have any discernable impact in crime in Milwaukee? Based on its coverage (where?), not even the Journal Sentinel thought much of the package.
Doyle wants Milwaukee to be able to declare itself a gun-free zone, reminding me of the '80s when the School Sisters of St. Francis declared their property in Bay View a "nuclear free" zone. That certainly brought peace in our time.
He wants to require background checks at gun shows and, at the risk of incurring the ire of Dad29, I can support that. But will that materially reduce the circulation of guns in MIlwaukee, When people want to sell and others want to buy, history tells us that the law will have a hell of a time stopping it. It's worth doing, but, in the mean time, Governor, what should we do to keep people safe?
6 comments:
Rick, with all due respect, that's not Darth's proposal.
In fact, his proposal has almost nothing to do with "gun shows," because there are VERY few private-party sales of guns which occur at shows. Trust me, I've looked...
Doyle's proposal will make it illegal for me to sell you my .357 without running the transaction through a dealer. For that matter, I can no longer WILL my guns to my children without running through a dealer.
He deliberately chose a term which is misleading. It's not "gun shows." It's private-party transactions which he wants to outlaw.
There. A non-wrathful dissent!
Other than the 'commitment/prohibited' legislation, the rest is merely ShowTime stuff.
Most of it will not pass, and the Wisconsin Constitution will invalidate other foolishness by the City of Milwaukee.
Meantime, if trends hold, another 50-100 people will die in Milwaukee.
Okay, it's not my issue/knowledge base, so I'll trust Dad that it's a solution that only squeaks like a mouse.
But then, what would you like him to announce? That's the question.
For one, I'd like to hear -- and I read that it's in the works -- continued funding for more cops for Milwaukee. That has worked this summer, with hundreds more preventive arrests every week. Preventing violent crime as well as preventing further assaults on general quality of life, i.e., noise, cruising, etc.
Btw, the announcement of that funding for this summer didn't get much notice from the JS then, either. That's hardly a measure of the worth of anything, is it? I mean, look how much coverage Tommy! got.:-)
Other than the "commitment" proposal, which is eminently sensible* and endorsed by the NRA in principle, all the rest is pure PuffPolitics.
Sound and fury signifying nothing.
*Depending on the fine-print, of course.
What ELSE?
How about US Attorney prosecutions for Federal law violations? Like possession of JUST ONE BULLET by a felon: 5 years in Club Fed.
We can go on. State prosecutions are nice, but the Feds can add jail-time.
So the problem is the feds, Dad, not the state? Doyle can't do it, and ought not even try, when it's only Bush (and Biskupic) who can fix this?
The proposals advanced by Doyle are, as usual, shooting in the wrong direction, as I've explained (with one exception.)
And if the DA in Milwaukee will not or can not obtain lengthy sentences for violent offenders, then add Federal charges and MORE jail-time.
Or, if you please, look at it another way: neither Doyle, nor Barrett, nor Chisholm, nor Biskupic can resolve the problem which is one of fatherless (ergo, totally undisciplined) "wilding" youth.
I'm prepared to accept that, largely because it is fact.
In which case, Doyle's obstinate and bullheaded refusal to sign CCW is just a way for him to tell law-abiding citizens that he has no use for them whatsoever.
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