Please join us for WAVE’s 10th Anniversary
The Inaugural Freedom From Gun Violence Dinner & Awards
Honoring Governor Jim Doyle
& Milwaukee County D.A. John Chisholm and Cynthia Martinez.
When: Thursday, November 8, 2007, 5:30-8:30 p.m.
5:30-6:30 Reception & Music — 6:30-8:30 Dinner & Awards
Where: Milwaukee Hilton Monarch Room — 509 West Wisconsin Avenue
When: Saturday, October 13th, 2007. 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Where: 1337 Jenifer Street, Madison, Wisconsin
Please join WAVE at the home of Bert Zipperer & Laurie Frank and listen to two dynamic and insightful authors, Professor Joan Burbick and Professor Saul Cornell.
Presentations will be followed by a lively discussion about the 2nd amendment and gun violence prevention efforts - all while enjoying light refreshments.
($30 Suggested Minimum Donation)
With a donation of $50 or more, you will receive a complimentary, signed copy of either:
“A Well-Regulated Militia: The Founding Fathers and the Origins of Gun Control in America” by Saul Cornell, or:
“Gun Show Nation: Gun Culture and American Democracy,” by Joan Burbick.
With a donation of $75 or more, you will receive a signed copy of both books!
Please RSVP by October 10th, 2007
Call (414) 351-9283 or Email: wave@waveedfund.org
WAVE has been out in the community collecting postcards expressing support for background checks on all gun sales and transfers, and we need your help.
Please take them to your workplace, friends, family, neighbors or place of worship. After you get them signed, return them to WAVE, and we will deliver them to legislators. Call WAVE and let us know how many postcards you need.
We would like to deliver thousands of postcards so we need your help!
WAVE needs your generous support to advocate for measures to prevent gun violence, such as our campaign to require background checks on all gun sales.
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).
The Daily Cardinal
By: Charles Brace
Wisconsin citizens are in favor of background checks on all gun sales, according to a poll by an anti-gun violence group.
However, the Wisconsin Rifle and Pistol Association disputes the results.
The poll said 80 percent of Wisconsin voters would support required background checks on all gun sales. The Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort sponsored the poll.
WAVE Executive Director Jeri Bonavia said the poll showed a wide range of voters favored the background checks.
“We just had tremendous support across all of Wisconsin, across all demographics,” Bonavia said.
Seven out of 10 National Rifle Association members support the checks as well, according to the WAVE release. Bonavia said the reason for a lack of action on the issue is because NRA leaders are disconnected from their average members.
“The lobbying organizations take much more extreme stands than typical gun owners or hunters,” Bonavia said.
( read more).
Release of Poll Highlights Comes on the Heels of International Association of Chiefs of Police Groundbreaking Report Also Calling for Background Checks on All Gun Sales
(September 19th, 2007, Milwaukee, WI) – Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort Executive Director, Jeri Bonavia, released the following information and statement today in response to the new International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) groundbreaking report: “Taking a Stand: Reducing Gun Violence in Our Communities.”
See the IACP complete report here.
The IACP report calls on local, state and federal lawmakers to enact almost 40 recommendations to reduce gun violence and reverse the nationwide upswing in violent crime. One of the most effective recommendations from IACP was a requirement to conduct criminal background checks prior to all gun sales.
This concurs with a comprehensive, statewide bipartisan poll recently commissioned by Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort, which found that there is overwhelming public support for a law that would require background on all gun sales.
The poll was jointly conducted by a right-leaning polling firm, Overbrook Research, and by a left-leaning firm, Lake Research Partners. WAVE is planning a comprehensive release of the poll results in the coming weeks.
Some highlights of the Wisconsin statewide bipartisan poll:
Eight out of ten likely Wisconsin voters support requiring a background check on all gun sales;
85% of Wisconsin residents, including 80% of gun owners, think gun violence is a serious problem;
Seven out of ten NRA supporters or members support background checks on all gun sales.
“This groundbreaking report from our nation’s police chiefs highlights the need to address gun violence with sensible and effective policies,” said Jeri Bonavia. “Specifically, the chiefs of police and the people of Wisconsin agree that conducting background checks on all gun sales is an effective way to reduce gun violence and make our communities safer.”
African-Americans make up only six percent of Wisconsin’s population, but the latest national crime study shows that if you’re black in Wisconsin, you’re nine times more likely than whites or other ethnic groups to be a murder victim. That’s higher than the national ratio, according to the National Crime Victimization Study released this month.
Nationally, the black homicide rate is six times higher than that of whites. While the murder rate has been steadily falling nationwide, the racial disparity of victims has held steady for the past five years. Last year, the number of murders in Wisconsin fell by 20 percent, from 207 to 166, but the national study shows that more than half of the victims were black. Also, 90 percent of black victims were killed by other blacks. Some experts say that’s because black victims are more likely to be attacked by someone armed with a gun.
That’s an issue Jeri Bonavia of the Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort says state lawmakers should address by making it harder to purchase illegal guns. She says currently we are making it as easy as possible for felons and other prohibited purchasers to acquire guns and, she says, her group thinks that should change.
The House Appropriations Committee Vote on Whether to Eliminate Tiahrt restrictions on ATF sharing crime gun trace data has been postponed until after the 4th of July recess.
This is an extremely important vote for us. Since the start of the Bush administration, there have been restrictions on the release of crime gun trace data added to ATF appropriations which makes it difficult for law enforcement to go after illegal guns and gun traffickers. **(For more information see below)
Representative David Obey has not said how he will vote on this issue. Constituent calls to him will be very important in persuading him to vote to oppose these Tiahrt restrictions on crime gun trace data. Could you please call Representative Obey this week and also try to get two or three friends to make similar calls. The other side is very good at calling and we need to match them. Also, the appropriations bills are very complex so we need to point up this provision to members of Congress. Your call will make a real difference. Here’s what you can do to help:
1) Call Representative Obey at 202-225-3365. Calls to Washington are the best but you can also call the district office in Wausau at 715-842-5606.
2) Ask Representative Obey to oppose the Tiahrt restrictions on the release of crime gun tracing information. Let him know that these restrictions have been attached to the Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriation Bill which the Committee will be considering next week and that law enforcement needs access to complete crime gun trace data in order to go after illegal guns and gun traffickers.
Thank you very much for your help with this!
**The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) operates a National Tracing Center which traces guns picked up by law enforcement at crime scenes back to the original manufacturer and eventually to the dealer that sold the gun. When the criminal who used the gun is identified, this information is also stored in the trace database. Thus this database answers questions about guns used in crime, gun dealers who have a high number of guns traced to crime, guns used in certain cities and states and by certain age groups. In fact, this information was compiled and released by ATF in its annual Youth Crime Gun Interdiction Initiative (YCGII) prior to the Tiahrt restrictions. On the ATF WEB site under Firearms, Youth Crime Gun Interdiction Initiatives (YCGII) it states, “The information contained in these reports demonstrate ATF’s commitment to the YCGII program, and to the protection of our citizens. The enforcement approach embodied in YCGII provides each community the opportunity and ability to customize their efforts to address their own gun problems, trends, sources, and investigations.”
Law enforcement previously used this data to look for patterns of gun trafficking. Researchers as well as legislators used it to evaluate certain gun policies. The public used it to advocate for changes in policy. Despite what the opposition says, on-going enforcement cases were not compromised by the release of aggregate data to the public.
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