Walker Signs Two Gun Bills Into Law

Gov. Scott Walker signed two bills Wednesday that will make it easier to carry guns in Wisconsin.

One of the bills ends Wisconsin’s 48-hour waiting period for handgun purchases. The other lets off-duty and retired police officers carry guns at schools. While both plans were hotly debated in the Legislature, the off-duty officers bill passed the Senate with bipartisan support.

Walker signs many bills at private ceremonies with no advance notice, but his office invited media to cover this signing ceremony at Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke’s office. Clarke has made a name for himself nationally as a tough-on-crime sheriff and an outspoken gun rights advocate.

The public ceremony gives the governor another chance to tout his record on gun issues as he readies his campaign for president. Walker frequently mentions his signing of Wisconsin’s concealed carry law during speeches on the campaign trail.

Opponents of the laws criticized Walker for signing them less than a week after a gunman killed nine people in a South Carolina church. But Walker maintained he wasn’t being insensitive.

”If we had pulled back on this, I think it would have given people the erroneous opinion that what we signed into law today had anything to do with what happened in Charleston,” Walker said.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said that since Walker now touts the availability of instantaneous background checks, he should require that of private gun sales, too.

“But that’s not what they’re interested in doing. What they’re interested in doing is currying favor with the NRA,” Barrett said.

Milwaukee groups trying to end domestic violence joined Barrett at a news conference Wednesday outside a soon-to-be-completed family peace center.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include statements from Scott Walker and Tom Barrett.