The Republican Party was formed in Wisconsin, firmly rooted in the principles of the constitution. What about today?
The number of new gun owners spells doom for gun control at all levels of government, yet those in office who profess to be staunch defenders of the Second Amendment have yet to be able to produce results.
Why?
Last week’s article touched on one of the reasons this is happening, so let’s recap.
Our last alert exposed the disturbing news that an anti-2A bill had several Republican legislators signed onto it.
That bill is AB321/SB317, a very loosely defined bill targeted at “misdemeanor domestic violence,” but the bill’s verbiage leaves room for all kinds of unconstitutional gun confiscation.
If you raise your voice, spank your child, even your medical decisions could affect your status to own a gun under this bill if it becomes law.
When we brought this to light, only one Republican (Rep. Rachel Cabral-Guevara) reached out to us and expressed her regret about the bill. She then subsequently dropped her co-authorship for the bill.
It is still pending whether she will drop her co-sponsorship of the bill.
So, why did only one Republican reach out?
The GOP loves to masquerade as the champions of the Second Amendment, yet their actions contradict their words.
This is the first reason for losing our gun rights, despite more and more citizens becoming gun owners and more people supporting the 2A.
WGO members have been putting pressure on and talking to our legislators, but the politician’s reactions are typically ones of anger rather than cooperation or cohesion.
They will turn around and attack anyone who calls out their inconsistency, kind of like Rep. Schraa and his inconsistent commitment to the 2A. Stonewalling no-compromise advocacy groups, because they called for accountability is not how you become a champion of liberty.
The other main reason is the GOP’s inept handling of its own base of support. It has a large constituency crying out for their right to bear arms, yet all the GOP delivers is talk, talk, and more talk. All the while ignoring the grassroots groups that are clamoring to help support pro-2A legislation.
We have 5 million new gun owners, 48% African American, and 50% women. The demographic of who buys guns is growing, and once they purchase these guns, they will not be too keen on giving them up.
So, we see the Second Amendment has enormous support right now across a vast swathe of society and the political spectrum. That trend is growing in the direction of restoring rather than restricting gun rights. With the amount of polarizing and divisive politics in America in 2021, the only thing it seems we can agree on is that we all want guns for our protection, as noted in the references above and below.
Most independents side with conservatives on the 2A, as well as most center and center-left voters. We recognize this habit baring out in polls and talking to the regular men and women on the street. Though the Pew Research Center tries to explain this trend away, the shift of the American public away from gun control and towards being pro-gun rights started in 2015.
In Ref 4, we see that Republicans and Independents are more likely to own or live in households that own a firearm.
So, the support is there. Why are we not getting our rights back? Why is there still talk of banning magazine sizes, certain types of rifles such as the popular AR-15 and semi-auto handguns? If most people are for gun rights, then why are the existing gun control laws not being rolled back?
It seems that the party that claims to be pro-2A is choosing not to or cannot correctly utilize that support at the moment, as evidenced by its failure to get appropriate 2A protections passed. The failure of the WI GOP also extends to its inability to reach out and correctly cooperate with grassroots efforts, efforts that would pressure Democrat legislators via pro-gun rights constituents from inside their districts.
The WI GOP cannot figure out how to mobilize and capitalize on the massive support for liberty in the grassroots arena. For all its talk of political capital, it is clueless about how to utilize its power. It is also entirely oblivious to — or simply ignores — its own contradictory and hypocritical behavior.
These politicians are thinking in terms of business as usual, while the people of Wisconsin are staring down the barrel of defunding the police legislation, sky-rocketing murder rates and a completely inept and out-of-control federal government. People fear for their lives from increasing criminality and instability while wondering if their only means of defense will be removed by sweeping gun control from on high.
We must correct this backward thinking in our political landscape.
The police are quitting in droves, departments are defunded, and our citizens want to keep their guns for defense. Why would the government want to target law-abiding people just defending themselves and taking responsibility for their safety and their family’s?
Increasingly, people are looking to their state and local governments to protect their rights. Yet, they find another uphill battle trying to get those who campaign on their pro-2A stance to live up to their word. That is without even mentioning the support for unconstitutional anti-gun bills by those claiming to be pro-gun champions.
It’s hard enough to find a gun rights champion in politics. It is yet another political struggle, just getting the party establishment not to fight the grassroots efforts being made.
AB321/SB317 is just one example of Republicans saying they are pro-2A while working against the right to bear arms.
While we are struggling with these issues, the federal government continues to push anti-gun legislation and gun control zealots for key cabinet positions.
Let us be clear:
No existing or proposed law will keep guns entirely off the street, but more laws and prohibitions will assuredly harm and disadvantage more law-abiding citizens.
The only people restricted will be the law-abiding citizen at the mercy of the surge of criminality.
No speculation here; this is human nature. It is a fact that criminals prefer gun control.
Firearms Proliferation in America is a Good Thing
Our citizens should be empowered to own the best tool for the job of defending themselves and their families. We know the Supreme Court says that police have no obligation to protect you from a crime or stop you from being a victim. The police cannot un-victimize you; they can only punish criminals after the fact.
That is not a very comforting thought.
If the argument is, “If we can only save one life…”, then what about the stats listed below?
• Guns prevent an estimated 2.5 million crimes a year, or 6,849 every day. The gun is often never fired and no blood (including the criminal) is shed. (Ref: National Crime Victimization Survey, 2000)
• Every year, 400,000 life-threatening violent crimes are prevented using firearms.
(Ref: Estimating intruder-related firearm retrievals in U.S. households, 1994. Robin M. Ikeda, Violence and Victims, Winter 1997)
• Sixty percent of convicted felons admitted that they avoided committing crimes when they knew the victim was armed. Forty percent of convicted felons admitted that they avoided committing crimes when they thought the victim might be armed. (Ref: Armed and Considered Dangerous: A Survey of Felons and Their Firearms, James Wright and Peter Rossi, Aldine, 1986)
• Felons report that they avoid entering houses where people are at home because they fear being shot. (Ref: Armed and Considered Dangerous: A Survey of Felons and Their Firearms, James Wright and Peter Rossi, Aldine, 1986)
• Fewer than 1 percent of firearms are used in the commission of a crime. (Ref: Firearm Violence, 1993-2011, BJS)
For more gun-related info check out: gunfact.info
The more firearms there are, the safer we are.
Politics is Downstream from Culture?
Let’s face it, those pushing for gun control are out of touch with their constituents. At the same time, it appears that both party orthodoxies want to retain the status quo of seeing our rights removed bit by bit — the constant move towards authoritarianism that we have seen from both Federal and State governments is evidence of this.
If this were not the case, wouldn’t they work as hard as possible to take advantage of this energy and wouldn’t we see our 2A rights steadily returning? Wouldn’t those claiming to be champions work with us not sneakily try to codify federal gun control?
Wouldn’t America and Wisconsin be reclaiming liberty rather than increasing tyranny?
Andrew Breitbart famously said, “Politics is downstream from culture….” But it appears that the establishment wants to build a dam to protect them from the reality that the tide has turned and that the people want their rights back. Americans and Wisconsinites are sick of being told how to live and how to defend themselves.
If those in the Republican party want to portray themselves as the champions of freedom and gun rights, they must correctly utilize their political capital. The GOP must be more willing to cooperate in good faith with people at the grassroots level. Politics should not be some exclusive club that makes you jump through hoops to participate. Politicians should be welcoming the community to participate, with open arms, not stonewalling them or stabbing them in the back with surprise gun control.
State republicans heap their scorn on WGO for holding their feet to the fire, but we wear that blowback as a badge of honor. As GOA’s Larry Pratt once told us, “If you’re taking flak, it means you’re over the target.”
The momentum is there. The support is there. And, the people will no longer accept insincere politicians. They will no longer accept the status quo.
That is why WGO is calling on Republican leadership to reaffirm their dedication to our founding principles and the people of Wisconsin; as defenders of the right to bear arms.
Action: Email Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and State Senate President Chris Kapenga using the pre-written letter below.
< ————————————————-Pre-Written Letter——————————————————– >
Dear <_____________>,
Stop the games.
I am a member of Wisconsin Gun Owners Inc., and it has come to my attention that many games are being played with our rights by state Republicans. While your party speaks about gun rights and the Second Amendment as if it were something that you all genuinely believe in, your actions and the actions of your party members say otherwise.
WGO uncovered AB321/SB317, a bill regulating firearms possession by a person convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence. Upon closer inspection of the bill, they found that the wording is so loose and ill-defined that almost anything could count as “misdemeanor domestic violence.”
Anything from raising your voice and spanking your child to a person’s medical decisions could fall under the wording of this bill.
Wisconsinites want Republican leadership to make a show of good faith and work with Wisconsin Gun Owners, Inc to let the State know that you stand with supporters of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Bill of Rights, and Section 25 of the Wisconsin Constitution, as written.
Work with WGO to sponsor an act that will let us know that the Republican party of Wisconsin isn’t just blowing smoke. The patience of Wisconsin residents is wearing thin, with all the half-hearted and insincere gestures. So, I am calling on you to fully back all parts of the Wisconsin Self-Defense and Firearms Freedom Act (WSDFF):
• Campus Carry (Rep. Callahan)
• Stand your Ground (Rep. Callahan)
• Constitutional Carry/Permitless Carry (?)
Thank you for your time, and I will be watching for your reply.
Wisconsin Gun Owners, Inc. will keep me updated.
Sincerely,
<______>
NEXT STEP:
Join Wisconsin Gun Owners – Wisconsin’s Only No-Compromise Gun Rights Organization
WGO works for grassroots gun owners, not politicians. While many gun lobbies fight for “reasonable gun control,” WGO sets a higher standard: We oppose all gun control — regardless of the political party — and work tirelessly to restore the Second Amendment. WGO has angered many politicians who would like people to believe that they support gun rights — even when they vote against them. Click here