Concealed guns for everyone!

Republicans are about to turn back the clock--to 1872, the last time it was lawful to carry concealed weapons in the state (great background here).  That means the stressed guy in the next cubicle, the angry road-rage hothead you just accidentally cut off in traffic, the drunk who's picking fights in the bar could all be packing heat.

And it gets better.  A current Republican-sponsored bill would require no permits, no background checks, and no training. (JS Online article here).  But the bill does have the stringent requirements that someone walking around with a loaded handgun in their Jockeys be at least 21 years old, not a felon, and not have been ruled mentally incompetent.  Thank goodness, huh?

I admit I don't know an awful lot about the issue.  My post was late tonight because I was doing some more research on it.  It seems a lot of the pro-concealed carry argument comes from the seminal Lott-Mustard study of 1997 showing that concealed carry correlates with lowered crime (because, as Lott says, "criminals are uncertain which potential victims can defend themselves").  However, there are studies reviewing the same statistics and coming to the conclusion that concealed carry actually increases crime (one example study here).  Unfortunately, I couldn't find any reputable studies from the last ten years that backed either side. 

To be sure, Wisconsin is one of only two states (along with Illinois) that does not allow concealed carry.  And even Senator Russ Feingold backed a Republican-sponsored proposal in 2009 that would have allowed concealed carry into Wisconsin if it was legal in someone's home state.

But that doesn't make it right.

And they figured that out already back in the days of Billy the Kid..

WISGOP says Do You Like Me Now?

Like a big brother that beats you up and then bribes you so he won't get in trouble, Wisconsin's fine Republican legislators are offering crumbs, really, now that their recall butts are on the line.  After the merciless pounding the Walker-run legislature gave worker rights in this state (rights, Walker finally admitted under oath , had no direct fiscal bearing on the budget, but rather were union-busting), Republican legislators are saying--all of the sudden now that recall papers have been served up-- "Hey, you know what?  Um, maybe this part of the budget could be changed, after all."

If the Democrats had not delayed the quorum for the budget-repair bill, and got people thinking about and actually reading things, for goodness sakes, the Republicans would have passed the 2011-2013 budget, no questions asked  (Rep. Robin Vos, R-Rochester gushed about it), as they would have budget-repair.

So now GOP legislators, even those that are--surprise--up for recall, are "breaking" with Walker and making nice with Wisconsinites through lip-service against budget items including Walker's removing income limits for school voucher families, splitting UW from the UW system, removing recycling, and using general funds for transportation.  

But really it's just b.s. window-dressing.  The non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau says there are still "more than 40 non-fiscal policy items in the governor's budget...proposals that aren’t absolutely essential to balancing the books,"  something that Walker campaigned against doing (Superior Telegram, 4/27).  And there are still numerous, equally-vile budget items remaining (drastic cuts to education and communities, for instance).  Oh, yeah, and Republicans may insert the court-stalled, anti-collective bargaining bill into the budget, as well.

Make sure your friends and neighbors don't fall for these little bribes to win back public favor.

The damages the Republican legislature has inflicted, and will inflict, on this state are far too serious to let them buy us off.