Milwaukee mayor signs gun-related domestic violence resolution

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson and other local leaders are pushing for people convicted of domestic violence to be prohibited from possessing firearms.

On Wednesday, he signed a resolution at City Hall as a step forward in spreading awareness on how often domestic violence incidents occur in Wisconsin, and ultimately, to save innocent lives before it's too late.

"People are surprised to learn that somebody who has been convicted of a domestic abuse, whether a misdemeanor, a felony or otherwise, has access to guns," said Democratic State Rep. Lisa Subek.

A 2022 Wisconsin Supreme Court case decided that a conviction for "disorderly conduct, domestic violence" doesn’t qualify as a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence under federal law.

Rep. Subek authored a bill to get rid of that loophole. In fact, it is unanimously co-sponsored by the Common Council.

"This is not just an exercise in legislation, it's not just an exercise in civics. We must never lose sight of the human toll of domestic violence," said Mayor Cavalier Johnson.

According to the data gathered by the organization End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin, domestic violence claimed 96 lives in Wisconsin in 2022.

The organization also reports that since the year 2000, they've tracked at least 1,268 individuals in the state who have been killed in domestic violence incidents. Consistent with past years’ reports, firearms remain the most common weapon used.

Carmen Pitre, president and CEO of Sojourner Family Peace Center, told CBS 58 News that this is progress, especially when it comes to breaking the generational cycle of violence we often see in our communities.

"Violence is a learned behavior," Pitre said. "There's no human being that's born with this idea, 'I'm going to hurt other people.' You learn violence as a child, when you're exposed. That's the bad news; the good news is if it's learned, it can be unlearned."

Advocates say it's time to get these guns out of the hands of dangerous people, and they are hoping to get bipartisan support.