Christmas Eve 2019 ~ yet another senseless gun-related death that argubly might have been prevented. A brother with a known psychosis — and a conceal carry permit — shoots his sister to death.

The Senate Majority Leader and the Assembly Leader both should think long and hard about their actions in October because, if this keeps up, someone close to them is going to be affected by gun violence. It’s not “if” but “when.”

Sheila’s friends and family are all grieving now for such a needless loss. It is especially needless because there are extreme risk protection laws in 17 states also known as red flag laws which are specifically designed to prevent murders by people who are known to be dangerous. These laws authorize courts to issue a protection order, allowing the police to temporarily confiscate firearms from people who are deemed by a judge to be a danger to themselves or to others. Usually, the request for the order will come from relatives or friends concerned about a loved one who owns one or more guns and has expressed suicidal thoughts or discussed shooting people.

Wisconsin, however, is not one of those states. However, it could easily have had this law in place in time to protect Sheila from her brother, who was a known danger who legally possessed a gun. This past October, Gov. Evers called a special legislative session to consider to common sense gun control measures: universal background checks and red flag legislation. Despite the fact that 80% of Wisconsin residents support passage of these laws, Republican legislative leaders refused to vote on or even debate these popular measures. In an utter act of contempt for voters, Senate Majority leader Scott Fitzgerald dismissed the Senate in 30 seconds and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos dismissed the Assembly in 15 seconds. Gov. Evers has considered calling another special session on these measures, but thus far, has not done so.

Source: Losing Sheila’s Smile – Systems Change Consulting