Imagine tens of thousands of people walking around Wisconsin with guns in their pockets. Imagine signs posted at the entrances of grocery stores, banks, child care centers and clinics telling you "NO GUNS ALLOWED." Will the person behind you in the post office have a gun? Will a well-intentioned, pistol-packing citizen trying to "help" the police accidentally shoot an innocent bystander, your child?
This could be our state if the National Rifle Association and Sen. Dave Zien have their way on Wednesday, when the Republican-controlled Legislature attempts to override Gov. Jim Doyle's veto of the concealed carry bill.
What are concealed carry proponents concealing with their call to arms? The truth.
They tried to conceal the scheduled vote, alerting their supporters via e-mail at least 24 hours before conferring with their Democratic counterparts in the Legislature. The NRA Web site claims the majority of Wisconsin residents support concealed carry. Not true! Sixty-nine percent of us oppose concealed carry.
Proponents try to scare us into believing concealed weapons will make us safer. They won't. Research designed to "prove" that allowing concealed weapons reduces violent crime has been discredited for faulty methodology. Zien and the gang threaten and intimidate, charging that opponents would rather see women raped, abducted or murdered than allowed to carry concealed weapons.
The pro-concealed carry cabal dares to call the bill the "Personal Protection Act" in an effort to raise the political cost to opponents. Who could be against personal protection? But personal protection is a myth.
Claiming law-abiding citizens will be able to defend themselves against crime, proponents fail to address what constitutes "self-defense." They argue that any "threatened" individual can use a firearm to fend off the threat. They don't mention Wisconsin's self-defense statute, Wisconsin Statute 939.48, which could land those who use guns to defend themselves in prison. Will courts view "self-defense" use of a concealed weapon against an unarmed assailant reasonable?
Concealed carry proponents don't tell us that ending our 130-year prohibition against concealed carry will increase children's access to guns. It will.
They don't reveal that domestic batterers will have more access to concealed weapons. The Wisconsin Domestic Homicide Report reveals that 60 percent of those who used firearms to kill their partner would have been eligible for a concealed carry permit. How is a women's shelter really a shelter if a batterer can legally carry a concealed weapon in the parking lot? Will our children be safe when a domestic dispute finds its way to the playground?
The NRA and Zien do not reveal the truth about this unfunded mandate. Sheriffs would charge a $75 application fee to offset costs associated with conducting background checks, but the checks will take eight to 12 hours each and cost $350 to $600. This would increase taxes or cut funding in other areas.
We don't need the NRA setting policy in our state. Our elected officials must stop wasting their time and our money on this vigilante justice bill. They must stop concealing their assault on working people and start working for the public good.
Real security comes from health care, quality education, environmental protection and clean government - not from the point of a gun.
Madison Women for Peace formed in March 2003, as the Bush administration prepared to invade Iraq, to challenge crises of morality and political will and to spread the word that war is violence against women. We are honored to participate in the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence, to strengthen the work of local organizations and continue our solidarity with women around the world.