Gun Violence Prevention Group Wants Stricter Law
by Jessi Polsky
Monday, September 24, 2007
The Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort is again calling for background checks on all gun sales in the state.
A report released Thursday by the International Association of Chiefs of Police has gained the support of WAVE because it gives government officials more than 40 recommendations for reducing gun violence — including requiring background checks for gun sales. Both the IACF report and a statewide, bipartisan poll commissioned by WAVE show support for legislation requiring all gun sales to go through a licensed salesman.
Jeri Bonavia, executive director of WAVE, said background checks are essential to ensure guns do not end up in the hands of dangerous individuals.
“We only do background checks if a person is buying a gun from a licensed gun dealer,” Bonavia said. “An unlicensed deal is a no-questions-asked transaction, [and account for] about 50 percent of all gun sales in the state of Wisconsin.”
If background checks for all gun sales were law, Bonavia said, the only people who would be unable to purchase a gun would be violent individuals who should not have access to weapons.
“What we’re asking [the Legislature] for is the same thing the chiefs of police want,” Bonavia said. (read more).