Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Senate committee debates mandatory minimums for gun-toting felons

By: Erika Strebel, [email protected]//September 1, 2015//

Senate committee debates mandatory minimums for gun-toting felons

By: Erika Strebel, [email protected]//September 1, 2015//

Listen to this article

A state Senate committee encountered unexpected heated discussion Tuesday over a bill that would create a mandatory minimum sentence for repeat offenders caught with a gun.

The proposal would require that a person must be sentenced to at least five years in prison if convicted of using a firearm to commit certain Class A to Class G felonies.

For those convicted of Class H or Class I felonies, possessing firearms could net at least three years or at least 1-1/2 years, respectively.

Under current law, people convicted of a felony who possess firearms face up to a $25,000 fine or imprisonment for up to 10 years, or both.

Ashlee Moore, staff member for state Rep. Joel Kleefisch, R-Oconomowoc, and state Rep. LaTonya Johnson, D-Milwaukee, testified in favor of the bill at Tuesday’s public hearing.

Kleefisch, who was unable to attend, and Johnson are authors of the bill. Johnson said the need for the bill was urgent.

“As we debate this bill,” said Johnson, “People are dying.”

But state Sen. Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee, said she was concerned that the mandatory minimum would not be effective.

“Is this the most effective way to move forward?” she asked.

State Sen. Van Wanggaard also questioned the bill’s effectiveness, noting that the mandatory minimum would take away judges’ discretion, and would not discourage DAs from accepting plea bargains.

The Senate Committee on Public Safety and Judiciary heard more than two hours of testimony Tuesday in favor of the bill.  About an hour and a half of that testimony was from Moore and Johnson.

Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett also testified. Flynn said that the bill targets a specific group of offenders and ensures that victims caught in their crossfire will get justice.

“The victim disparity in my community is grotesque,” he said.

An assembly committee voted June 2 to approve the proposal. It then passed the Assembly on a voice vote June 10 and was amended on the floor. The amendment would waive the mandatory minimum if the offender’s last conviction was five or more years ago.

The Senate committee also heard testimony on several other bills, including a proposal to remove civil liability for people who break into cars as long as they reasonably believed a person or animal would be imminently harmed if they didn’t take action.

 

Polls

Should Wisconsin Supreme Court rules be amended so attorneys can't appeal license revocation after 5 years?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Legal News

See All Legal News

WLJ People

Sea all WLJ People

Opinion Digests