Justice holds fundraiser at gun range after mass shooting

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MILWAUKEE (AP) — Wisconsin Democrats are taking conservative state Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly to task for holding a campaign fundraiser at a gun range after a mass shooting in Milwaukee.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel first reported that Kelly held the fundraiser at the Wisconsin Firearms Training Center in Brookfield in Waukesha County on Thursday, a day after Anthony Ferrill shot and killed five co-workers at the Molson Coors brewery before turning his gun on himself.

Fundraiser attendees could donate at three levels, including $5,000 for the “50 Cal M2HB” level, a reference to a machine gun. A $2,500 contribution would put the donor at the “25 ACP” level, a reference to a .25-caliber handgun. A $1,000 donation would put the contributor at the “10 mm” level, referring to another handgun.

State Democratic Party spokeswoman Courtney Beyer called the fundraiser “tasteless and disrespectful.”

Kelly faces liberal-leaning challenger Jill Karofsky in an April 7 election. The race is officially nonpartisan but Republicans are backing Kelly and Democrats are lining up behind Karofsky.

Kelly campaign manager Charles Nichols said Karofsky’s allies are trying to exploit the brewery tragedy for their own political gain and she and Democrats don’t understand people have a right to bear arms.
Karofsky’s campaign declined comment.