A Message from WAVE


More than 400 people in our state are killed each year by guns. With annual firearm deaths exceeding 30,000 nationwide, families and neighborhoods everywhere are devastated daily by this violence. An appalling number of the victims are children.

Through research, education and advocacy, WAVE Educational Fund raises awareness about firearm violence throughout the state, provides up to date information to the public and to policy makers, and promotes common sense measures that will bring our state to the forefront of gun violence prevention.

The stories below provide up-to-date information about what WAVE is doing to stop gun violence, and the links above will help provide context and awareness about our campaigns. Thank you for taking an interest in our mission to end gun violence in Wisconsin.

latest updates

What happens when the fox guards the hen house (or the NRA writes our gun laws)?

1) When a rogue dealer loses his license, he is allowed to continue selling guns throughout the appeals process.
2) A corrupt dealer can transfer the store to another party (like a wife, son, nephew…), which halts the revocation process… and erases the earlier violations.
3) Dealers, who are about to lose their license, can transfer all their guns to their own “private collection” and then sell them in private sales (no ID, no paperwork, no background check).

http://www.jsonline.com/watchdog/watchdogreports/99999969.html

Judge says Shawano gun dealer should lose license
But appeals process could take years

By John Diedrich of the Journal Sentinel

Aug. 4, 2010

A judge has ruled that a Shawano gun dealer should lose its license for repeatedly failing to keep accurate records and for making suspected straw gun sales, supporting the action a federal agency took nearly three years ago.

Despite the ruling from U.S. District Judge William Griesbach in Green Bay this week, Shawano Gun and Loan continues to sell guns - and might be able to do so for months or even years depending on a possible appeal. Read More » »

Hear Jeri Bonavia on WORT 89.9 FM


Click here to listen to Jeri Bonavia’s comments on the Supreme Court ruling on Chicago’s handgun ban. This program originally aired on In Our Backyard on WORT 89.9 FM and streamed at http://www.wort-fm.org/.

Private-Party Gun Sales, Regulation, and Public Safety


The New England Journal of Medicine
Garen J. Wintemute, M.D., M.P.H., Anthony A. Braga, Ph.D., and David M. Kennedy

In 2007, a total of 12,632 people in the United States were murdered with firearms, and it is estimated that another 48,676 were treated in hospitals for gunshot wounds received in assaults. Guns are frequently used to commit crimes in the United States, partly because they are so easy to get. This ease of access, in turn, is partially attributable to the fact that there are two systems of retail gun commerce in this country, one involving licensed gun retailers and the other based on private-party gun sellers, and only the former of these systems is regulated. Some 85% of all guns used in crimes and then recovered by law-enforcement agencies have been sold at least once by private parties. Read More » »

DCTV Beyond Bullets

Check out WAVE’s video, Meet Wayne, and other video’s from around the country about the effects of gun violence, on DCTV’s new multi-media website Beyond Bullets.

Open Carry “Hero” Charged with Homicide

Update: Jesus Gonzalez has been called a “hero” of the movement by members of opencarry.org. He has been charged with 1st degree intentional homicide after what has been described as a parking-space dispute.
View local coverage here

WAVE’s Spring 2010 Newsletter

guns, Guns, GUNS, How the Fringe Defines Freedom

PEACE through MUSIC - The Music of John Lennon - Sunday, May 30, 2010

Don’t Miss the 9th Annual Benefit to Prevent Gun Violence!

– Linneman’s Riverwest Inn –
1001 E. Locust St., Milwaukee
Doors Open 6 p.m. – Music Starts 7 p.m.
$10 Donation Benefits WAVE & the Brady Campaign

Featuring the usual awesome lineup of musicians! Read More » »

Open Carry Advocate Charged with Homicide

An open carry advocate in Wisconsin, Jesus Gonzalez, was charged with homicide for fatally shooting a Green Bay man in Milwaukee this past weekend. Gonzalez had filed a civil lawsuit in federal court challenging two disorderly conduct arrests for carrying a handgun openly in retail establishments. The federal court sided with law enforcement and dismissed the lawsuit on May 11th. Read more in this Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article.

Watch Our New Video


Read More » »

Americans Oppose and Feel Unsafe with Open Carry. Women Strongest in Opposing Guns in Public.

May 12, 2010

Washington, D.C. - A majority of Americans oppose people carrying loaded guns openly in public. More feel unsafe than feel safer - and a third feel much less safe with that knowledge, according to a poll conducted for the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence by respected polling firm Lake Research Partners.

“Politicians who are doing the bidding of the gun lobby, and businesses who worry about offending gun rights extremists, should look at this data and be aware that there is potentially a large price to pay with voters and customers alike,” said Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Center. “Having more guns in public places not only puts more people at risk, it clearly makes people feel less safe.” Read More » »