Wisconsin’s GOP-led state Senate on Wednesday passed a measure to turn the state into a “Second Amendment sanctuary,” becoming the latest to do so amid a similar push from Republican state legislatures and governors around the country.
The state Senate passed Assembly Bill 293 by a voice vote, sending a bill to Democrat Gov. Tony Evers’ office. Evers, who has opposed similar legislation, will likely bow to pressure from top Democrats and not sign the measure amid a federal push to enact more gun control restrictions.
If the bill is signed into law and withstands legal challenges, the measure would prevent state law enforcement officials from confiscating guns from individuals who were convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence offenses, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, citing legislature lawyers. In the bill, a firearm that is owned in Wisconsin and doesn’t leave the state cannot be subject to federal regulation, the text of the bill reads.
The bill also prohibits law enforcement from “enforcing a federal act, law, statute, rule, regulation, treaty, or order” that requires the registration of guns, regulates magazines’ capacity, requires confiscating a firearm, or bans semi-automatic firearms.
State agencies and local municipal governments, if the bill is signed, cannot use state resources to confiscate guns that are lawfully owned in the state, the bill’s text reads. Meanwhile, it would require firearms that are manufactured in Wisconsin to be stamped with a logo that reads, “Made in Wisconsin.”
Republican supporters of the bill, which was first passed in the Wisconsin state Assembly on June 9, have described it as a “Second Amendment sanctuary” measure.
Amid announcements, orders, and proposals made by President Joe Biden, a number of Republican-led states have passed measures declaring them “Second Amendment sanctuaries,” which have varying regulations and laws that either bar law enforcement from enforcing new federal gun-control laws, prevent state lawmakers or governors from enacting any new laws related to firearms, or both.
Texas became the latest state to enact a “sanctuary” law after Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, signed a legislature-passed bill last week. Texas’s bill prohibits state officials from enforcing certain federal regulations on firearms, firearm accessories, or ammunition that are not in line with state law.
North Dakota, Nebraska, and Oklahoma in recent weeks have passed and enacted similar measures.
The vote in Wisconsin’s Senate comes as Biden announced Wednesday that the federal government will try a new strategy in dealing with shootings and crime across the United States.
“It has spiked since the start of the pandemic over a year ago. Crime historically rises during the summer. And as we emerge from this pandemic with the country opening back up again, the traditional summer spike may even be more pronounced than it usually would be,” he said, blaming the rise in crime on “gun violence,” a nebulous term that critics have said is an attempt to demonize lawful gun owners rather than criminals.