What Wisconsin's 2022 candidates say they will do to prevent gun violence

Tuesday marked the deadliest U.S. school shooting since 20 children and six adults were gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012.

The target was another elementary school: Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas. The death toll, this time, was 19 children and two adults.

Wisconsin is not immune to school violence.

In 2006, a 15-year-old shot and killed Weston High School principal John Klang in Cazenovia. 

In 2010, a 15-year-old Marinette High School student held his class hostage for more than six hours before turning the gun on himself as police entered.

In 2016, a former Antigo High School student shot and wounded a couple attending prom. 

In 2019, a Waukesha South High School student was shot and injured after aiming a gun at police officers (and, reportedly, pointing a gun at another student's head) while in school.

The Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security has tracked 2,054 school shootings in the U.S. since 1970. Parents sending their children to school are left to wonder and worry: What can be done to keep kids safe? And what kind of action will elected officials take? 

"The time to have stopped Uvalde was right after Sandy Hook," said Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke, as protesters gathered Friday outside the National Rifle Association's annual convention in Houston. "The time for us to have stopped Uvalde was right after Parkland. The time for us to have stopped Uvalde was right after Santa Fe High School. The time for us to stop the next mass shooting in this country is right now, right here, today with every single one of us."

The American Medical Association declared gun violence a public health crisis in 2016. And in 2020, gun violence became the leading cause of death for children and adolescents in the U.S.

With several statewide offices on the ballot this year, the Cap Times reached out to candidates to ask what policies they support (or oppose) to prevent shootings and other violence at schools, and which of those would be their priorities if elected in November.

While both parties are united in acknowledging the tragedy of school shootings, their approaches to prevention differ. By and large, Republicans have advocated for bolstering school security and increasing the presence of armed officers, while Democrats have called for stricter gun regulations.

Governor

Tony Evers (Democrat, incumbent)

An Evers spokesperson noted the governor has focused, in particular, on two proposals.

Through one, known as a "red-flag" law or an "extreme risk protection order," family members or police could ask a judge to temporarily remove firearms from a person considered to be a danger to themselves or others. The other would expand background checks for most gun purchases, including those made online or at gun shows.

In November 2019, Evers called a special session urging lawmakers to pass those bills. GOP lawmakers in both chambers gaveled in and, within a minute, adjourned without debate. Evers also included those provisions in his 2021-23 state budget proposal; they were removed by Republicans in the Legislature. 

The Democratic governor has also vetoed legislation that would expand gun rights in Wisconsin, primarily under the umbrella of the state law allowing for the licensed carrying of concealed weapons.

Evers, in a video message, pledged to "work with any Republican who wants to find common ground, who wants to make progress on gun safety."

"If we can prevent one more kid from watching their friends be maimed with their own eyes, if we can prevent one more parent from having their soul ripped out from them by learning they will never see their kid laugh or cry or play again, if we can prevent one more person from being viciously gunned down while buying groceries, worshiping the god they believe in, or doing everyday things like a person should be able to do without fear of whether they’re going to make it home or not, then it’ll be worth it," Evers said.

Rebecca Kleefisch (Republican)

In a statement, Kleefisch noted that, during her time serving as lieutenant governor with former Gov. Scott Walker, their administration spearheaded a $100 million school safety plan. Kleefisch pledged to expand the program.

The 2018 plan established an Office of School Safety within the state Department of Justice and created a $100 million grant program for public and private K-12 schools to fund building upgrades and staff training.

Following political negotiations and calls for compromise, the legislation creating the DOJ office and grant program was passed with overwhelming bipartisan support — but Democrats were unhappy it did not include gun control measures.

"We can’t stop making our schools more secure. I’ll expand the program so more school resource officers can be in place — not removed like some misguided districts are currently proposing," Kleefisch said in a statement.

In a TV ad released in March, Kleefisch promised to be "unapologetically pro-gun and pro-life."

In a tweet, she described the Uvalde shooting as "every parent's worst nightmare."

"We must also make sure teachers and parents have the resources to identify problems before they occur," Kleefisch continued. "This means ensuring more school staff are trained to identify kids experiencing adverse events, more mental health treatment is available to both kids and their families, and that licensing of more mental health professionals is streamlined and prioritized."

Tim Michels (Republican)

Michels' campaign did not respond to an email seeking comment. 

Kevin Nicholson (Republican)

A Nicholson spokesperson said the candidate supports increasing the presence of armed, trained police officers and security guards at schools. 

"Kevin believes the Second Amendment exists to allow citizens to safeguard their life and liberty," said Nicholson spokesperson Courtney Mullen. "When and wherever possible, schools should be safeguarded by armed and professionally trained safety professionals — this means hiring more police officers and security guards who can continually train to handle weapons in a close-quarters environment, with a focus on safeguarding the lives of children in the face of a suicidal enemy."

Nicholson — a businessman and Marine veteran — also tweeted that the Uvalde shooting was "horrific and a further sign that our society is fundamentally off kilter."

Timothy Ramthun (Republican)

Ramthun's campaign did not respond to an email seeking comment.

Attorney General

Josh Kaul (Democrat, incumbent)

Kaul, during a Wednesday news conference, echoed his and Evers' previous calls for expanded background checks and red-flag/ERPO (extreme risk protection order) laws. 

He lauded the creation of DOJ's Office of School Safety and its subsequent work, and decried the GOP-led Legislature's resistance to passing gun-control bills.

"We all know what's going to happen, right? We’re going to hear people, they offered thoughts and prayers (on Tuesday), and we’re going to have to hear about mental health in the next few days — it’s going to be the same legislators by the way, who block Medicaid expansion, which would provide mental health care, and block additional funding for schools for mental health care — who are going to say that mental health is now the issue," Kaul told reporters on Wednesday.

"But we know what kinds of commonsense steps we can be taking in Wisconsin to make our communities safer," he continued. "Things like keeping guns out of the hands of domestic abusers. Universal background checks. Prohibiting ghost guns (privately assembled, untraceable firearms)."

Adam Jarchow (Republican)

Jarchow, an attorney and former state representative, pledged in a statement to "clean up our streets and make our communities safe again."

"That's why I introduced the 'Make Wisconsin Safe Again' plan," he said.

Under his plan, Jarchow would elevate the DOJ's Office of School Safety to its own division within the agency. Doing so, he said, would "allow for more dedicated staffing and resources to address school safety and mental health for our students, teachers, and families."

Jarchow's plan would also give DOJ original jurisdiction over some gun-related crimes, which would allow the state agency — not just district attorneys — to file charges in those cases.

Eric Toney (Republican)

Toney, who currently serves as Fond du Lac district attorney, said he is "heartbroken" over the Uvalde shooting, and called for more armed officers at schools.

"Evil exists in this world," Toney said in a statement, expressing gratitude for the law enforcement officers who responded.

"We must ensure armed school resource officers are in our schools to protect our kids and analyze the root causes of this unspeakable violence to prevent future violence, not restrictions on our constitutional rights," Toney continued. "Does Attorney General Josh Kaul support armed school resource officers in our schools? Will Gov. Evers use ARPA funds to protect our schools?"

U.S. Senate

Ron Johnson (Republican, incumbent)

Johnson spoke on the Senate floor on Wednesday, urging the passage of the Luke and Alex School Safety Act, which would require the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to maintain a federal clearinghouse on school safety best practices.

The clearinghouse already exists, but the bill — named for Luke Hoyer and Alex Schachter, who were killed in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, in 2018 — would codify it. The proposal was approved unanimously by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs in 2019.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer blocked the bill's passage on Wednesday, saying the legislation alone "is not in any way shape or form a sufficient solution."

"The senator has supported a number of commonsense improvements to background checks and guns laws. Unfortunately, the Democrats always take the position that it is either their way or the highway. Democrats aren’t interested in solutions, they are interested in maintaining wedge issues that they believe give them a political advantage," said Johnson spokesperson Alexa Henning, referring to the blocked legislation. 

Johnson supported the bipartisan 2018 "Fix NICS" Act, designed to bolster the federal background check system. He has also supported measures that would, among other things, increase criminal penalties for straw purchasing and firearms trafficking.

The senator walked away from a CNN reporter on Wednesday without answering a question about expanding background checks.

Mandela Barnes (Democrat)

In the Senate, Barnes would "prioritize preventing gun violence by keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous people," said spokesperson Maddy McDaniel in a statement.

The lieutenant governor would prioritize policies including background checks on all gun sales, ERPO/red-flag laws and closing loopholes that allow domestic abusers to have guns, his campaign said.

Other proposals Barnes would support include bans on "ghost guns," bans on assault weapons, bans on high-capacity magazines and repealing the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which protects firearms manufacturers and dealers from liability when their products are used to commit crimes.

"Mandela will protect kids by supporting secure storage laws that ensure children can’t get access to unsecured guns. He will also ensure law enforcement officers have the tools they need to trace crime guns to solve and prevent gun violence," McDaniel said.

She continued: "It’s time for Congress to treat gun violence like the public health emergency that it is, and that’s what Mandela intends to do in the Senate."

Sarah Godlewski (Democrat)

Godlewski would prioritize keeping "weapons of war out of the hands of domestic abusers, criminals, and terrorists," she said in a statement.

Growing up in a family of hunters in Eau Claire, Godlewski said, she respects "the rights enshrined in our Constitution."

"But that’s not what this is about," she said. "That’s the lie sold to us by politicians who are in the pocket of the big gun cartel."

The state treasurer also said she would prioritize "comprehensive background checks, red flag laws, and a ban on high-capacity magazines."

"As the mother of a young son," Godlewski said, she knows "the fear that grips parents when they drop their kids off at school and worry if they’ll come home safe."

Alex Lasry (Democrat)

"Thankful I woke up another day to my wife and daughter healthy and alive. Unfortunately too many Americans are waking up to empty beds today. ENOUGH," Lasry tweeted on Wednesday.

Lasry, a Milwaukee Bucks executive currently on leave, released a public safety plan for his campaign last week.

His campaign noted that the plan included universal background checks and waiting periods for gun purchases, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, banning "ghost guns," bolstering domestic terrorism prevention and passing an ERPO/red-flag law.

"These children and families need more than thoughts and prayers. We need action and we need it now," Lasry tweeted.

Tom Nelson (Democrat)

"Freedom is not worrying about whether or not your children make it through the school day alive or not," Nelson said in a statement.

The Outagamie County executive called for "serious gun violence legislation that gets at the heart of this epidemic so we no longer have to live in constant fear of the next tragedy."

"It begins by dismantling the NRA and defeating politicians like Ron Johnson who empower them," he said.

Steven Olikara (Democrat)

Olikara — the founder and former CEO of the Millennial Action Project — has made universal gun licensing — establishing a requirement that gun users be able to demonstrate proficiency and safety similar to obtaining a driver's license — a core proposal of his campaign.

Through the Millennial Action Project, Olikara said, he was proud to play a role in passing a 2018 law that enabled the Centers for Disease Control to study gun violence as a public health issue.

In an email, Olikara argued he has been the only candidate to focus on gun violence prevention on the campaign trail — "period." 

"This goes back to the start of our campaign. Leadership is about persistently building coalitions to move an issue forward — not just when it’s in the headlines, but more importantly, when it’s not in the headlines," Olikara said.