Lawmakers OK mandatory minimum sentence for felons caught with guns

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Lawmakers have approved a proposal that would require a minimum sentence for convicted felons who violate the prohibition of possessing a firearm and for convicts who use firearms to commit a felony.

A senate committee voted 6-2 Tuesday to approve the proposal.

More specifically, the proposal would require that a person must be sentenced to at least five years in prison if that person is 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.

The committee also heard motions Tuesday to make two amendments to the proposal. Both were introduced by state Rep. David Bowen, D-Milwaukee.

One would have made an exception to the mandatory minimum proposal if the most current offense happened 10 years after the felon has been put on probation, released from prison or to extended supervision.

Bowen said the amendment would recognize felons who are making an effort to create stability in their lives, such as holding a job, but may have been found in possession of a gun.

State Rep. Bon Gannon, R-Slinger, said Tuesday that he had been planning to vote in favor of the amendment, but after a conversation with a member of the police force, recanted.

“You don’t accidentally have a firearm,” he said.

That amendment failed 5-3 Tuesday.

The other amendment would have created a “safety valve” clause that lets judges sentence felons with no history of violent felonies involving guns to less than the proposed mandatory minimum sentence if the public is not harmed and it is in the best interest of the community.

The amendment also would have required the clerks of county court to keep track of sentences less than the proposed mandatory minimum in a report submitted to the state Department of Corrections and relevant legislative committees.

State Rep. Joe Kleefisch, R-Oconomowoc, said he understood Bowen’s concerns about the proposal but that the proposal was finely tuned enough that, in the vast majority of cases, the courts would be able to maneuver around the cases Bowen’s amendment considers.

The amendment also failed 5-3.

The panel held a public hearing on the proposal May 26. An author of the bill, state Rep. LaTonya Johnson, testified in its support. Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett also spoke in favor of the bill at the hearing, saying it would be a step that would help curb gun violence in Milwaukee.

Flynn said the proposal would help in two ways – incapacitate violent repeat offenders and affect the decisions of potential violent offenders.

Representatives of the ACLU of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys testified against the proposal. Their arguments included how mandatory minimums have been unsuccessful in Illinois and how the proposal could add to the expenses of trials. Follow @erikastrebel