Some lawmakers in Wisconsin are talking about stricter gun laws in the aftermath of the deadly shooting at Molson Coors.
Milwaukee Police say a worker at the plant shot and killed five co-workers on Wednesday, then shot himself. Gov. Tony Evers called the shooting senseless.
“We are still learning more details about what happened at Molson Coors,” Evers said. “What we do know, though, is that more lives were lost in a mass shooting in Wisconsin.
“Our hearts go out to the families of those whose lives were senselessly taken today, all of the folks and workers at Molson Coors, and the entire Milwaukee community as we grapple with yet another act of gun violence that will have long-lasting consequences for this community and our state,” Evers added.
Just a few hours after the shootings, calls began for lawmakers to do something about guns and gun violence.
“We need to be focusing on red flag laws as well as background checks. We need to take action. We need to do something,” Rep. David Crowley, D-Milwaukee, said Thursday. “We do not know exactly what happened, but we know what has continued to happen in our schools, workplaces, and nearly everywhere else. How much longer will we have to wait for the Wisconsin Legislature to make our communities safer?”
Crowley said he is not politicizing the shooting. He said the issue of gun violence is already political.
That’s not going over well with some other lawmakers.
Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, said it is not time to look at new laws.
“Today and coming days should be focused on the victims and healing while we learn the facts of [Wednesday’s] events,” Wanggaard said.
Evers pushed for a red flag law and tougher background checks during the spring legislative session, but the Republican-controlled legislature wanted to focus on mental health instead.
It is not clear where the suspect in the case got the two guns that Milwaukee Police say he used in his shooting spree.
