After signing two bills that loosen Wisconsin's gun laws, Gov. Scott Walker defended the timing of his public event Wednesday, saying it had been scheduled before nine people were shot and killed last week in a South Carolina church.

Wisconsin Republicans moved within a step Tuesday of eliminating the state's decades-old 48-hour waiting period for handgun purchases, pushing a bill that would wipe out the statutes through the state Assembly to Gov. Scott Walker's desk.

Republicans who control the state Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would eliminate Wisconsin's decades-old 48-hour waiting period for handgun purchases, brushing aside Democrats' concerns that the proposal would enable enraged people to quickly buy a deadly weapon.

The state Senate's judiciary committee has approved a Republican bill that would eliminate Wisconsin's decades-old two-day waiting period for handgun purchases.

The authors of a Republican bill that would eliminate Wisconsin's 48-hour waiting period for handgun purchases are trying to persuade the state Senate's judiciary committee to approve the measure.

Gov. Scott Walker has thrown his support to a bill that would eliminate Wisconsin's 48-hour waiting period for handgun purchases.

A Racine lawmaker wants to repeal Wisconsin's 48-hour waiting period to buy handguns.