Boots & Sabers

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Tag: Tony Evers

Evers’ veto harms state’s most vulnerable citizens

by | 1813, 26 Nov 1919 | | 24 Comments

My column for the Washington County Daily News is online. Here’s a sample:

In light of the CNA shortage and the relative inelasticity of wages, the Republicans in the Legislature passed a bill to try to increase the number of available CNAs from other states. The bill was simple. Federal rules require that a CNA receive 75 hours of training with 16 hours of clinical experience. Wisconsin requires 120 hours of training with 32 hours of clinical experience. The bill that the Republicans in the Legislature passed would have allowed CNAs who meet the federal standard to work in Wisconsin.

Twenty other states use the federal standard including the neighboring states of Minnesota, Iowa, and Michigan. There is no evidence that the additional 45 hours of training that Wisconsin requires has any appreciable impact on the quality of care. Not having enough CNAs in a facility to do the work definitely has a negative impact on the quality of care. By allowing CNAs who meet the federal standard to work in Wisconsin, it would have immediately increased the number of CNAs available — especially in areas near the western and northern borders.

Last week, Governor Evers vetoed the bill in its entirety. In his veto message, Evers said, “I object to providing less training for those who care for our state’s most vulnerable citizens,” despite any evidence that adopting the federal standard will harm care. One thing is certain: The quality of care is zero if nobody is available to provide the care.

While pronouncing concern for our state’s most vulnerable citizens, Governor Evers’ veto will harm them the most.

 

Evers Vetoes Bipartisan Bill

by | 0754, 20 Nov 1919 | | 0 Comments

Heh.

After signing a bill designating a portion of State Highway 33 as a memorial highway, Gov. Tony Evers vetoed another measure that set procedures for designating honorary highway and bridges.

Evers vetoed Assembly Bill 249 in its entirety Tuesday.

“I am vetoing this bill in its entirely because I object to limiting the ability to commemorate those who have made significant contributions to or sacrifices for the people of Wisconsin,” said Evers. “Recent legislation that honors the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, for example, would not meet the criteria in this bill. Further, I object to this bill because it places an unconstitutional limit on the deliberations or actions of future legislatures.”

The bill was co-authored by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) and State Rep. Dave Considine (D-Baraboo). It passed both chambers on a voice vote.

[…]

The bill made requirements such as the honoree needing to be deceased for more than five years, they had to have been a legal resident of Wisconsin at the time of their death, and that it cannot be in honor of a group or entity.

Evers Unleashes Another Profanity-Laced Tirade Against Republicans

by | 0716, 13 Nov 1919 | | 1 Comment

Making friends everywhere he goes…

While talking to staffers in the ag-department last Thursday Evers was quoted as saying the firing of Brad Pfaff was “amoral and stupid,” adding “We can’t let the bastards keep us from doing our good work.”

Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald accused Evers of being “shockingly disrespectful” to Republicans.

An Evers spokesperson says the governor isn’t going to apologize.

“Holiday” Tree

by | 0711, 13 Nov 1919 | , | 7 Comments

How stupid…

“It’s a holiday season for a whole bunch of people in the state of Wisconsin, even those that aren’t part of the Christian faith. I think it’s a more inclusive thing,” said Evers. “I know a lot of people love to have that debate, and I think it’s a good debate to have.”

[…]

Our Charles Benson asked Evers if his family called the tree in their home a “Christmas Tree” growing up, and Evers acknowledged that this was true but reiterated that the tree was in their home, not on the grounds of City Hall in Plymouth, Wisconsin.

There is only one holiday that uses a large, decorated, evergreen tree as part of its celebration… Christmas. It is a Christmas Tree even though other holidays are also happening in the same time period. Calling it a Holiday Tree is not inclusive. It is wrong and stupid.

Politics before mental health

by | 0731, 12 Nov 1919 | | 0 Comments

My column for the Washington County Daily News is in print and online. Here’s a taste, but be sure to pick up a copy.

While the debate over the state budget was contentious last spring, there was at least one issue on which both Republicans and Democrats agreed. Legislators on both sides of the aisle agreed that the state needs to do more to provide mental health services for people throughout the state. To that end, the state budget increased state funding for mental health services in several areas including spending $15 million for a mental health crisis center in the Chippewa Valley. Gov. Tony Evers’ partial veto of that provision, and the support of Assembly Democrats, tell us a lot about the Democratic Party of Wisconsin in 2019.

[…]

In a state budget, this one item is relatively small. It betrays, however, the priorities of Governor Evers and the Assembly Democrats. Why would they all work to redirect government spending from Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls to Madison? Why would they redirect money intended for a private health care service provider to a government facility? Simple. Politics.

Madison and Dane County were key to Evers’ narrow victory over Republican Scott Walker in 2018. With an impressive turnout of almost 70% — 12 points higher than average — Dane County gave Evers 220,052 votes to propel him into office. Without those votes, Scott Walker would still be in office and Tony Evers knows it. Looking at the statewide electoral map from last year, the entire Chippewa Valley, with the exception of Eau Claire County, voted heavily for Scott Walker.

It is no coincidence that Tony Evers did everything he could to redirect money from areas of the state that supported Walker to reward his supporters in Madison. It was just an added bonus that he could also redirect the money into a government facility instead of a private health care system. Evers cares more about his political supporters in Madison than the people of northwestern Wisconsin who need mental health services. And every Assembly Democrat agrees with Evers.

Evers Violates Open Record Law and Won’t Release Emails

by | 2311, 11 Nov 1919 | | 21 Comments

GREAT story by Fox 6

The FOX6 Investigators regularly conduct open records spot checks on public employees’ emails. A recent spot check on two weeks of state lawmakers’ emails uncovered the practice of using personal email addresses to communicate about sensitive government information.

In September, the FOX6 Investigators requested just over four weeks of emails to and from Governor Tony Evers and his chief of staff, Maggie Gau. Assistant legal counsel Erin Deeley denied the request. FOX6 narrowed the request to emails from one week; Deeley sent another denial letter.

Finally, the FOX6 Investigators asked for just Governor Evers’ emails from just one day.

Denied.

 

Wisconsin Senate Exercises Advise and Consent Role

by | 1214, 8 Nov 1919 | | 15 Comments

I do get a kick out of how exercised the Left is over this. They act like it is some sort of massive betrayal of process or something. Sure, it’s not common, but it happens. In fact, the last time it happened was in 1987. Who was governor then? TOMMY! And the Democratic Senate rejected an appointment. It happens. Get over it and appoint some other insider hack.

Gov. Tony Evers had a crappy birthday. He spent some of it sitting stone faced in the Wisconsin Senate chambers as lawmakers debated whether to confirm Brad Pfaff, his pick to run the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP). Along party lines, GOP senators fired the birthday boy’s ag secretary.

“I’m so PO’d about what happened today,” Evers told reporters outside the Senate chambers after the 19-14 vote on Nov. 5. “This distresses me personally.”

No other governor in modern history has ventured from the East Wing to witness the Senate in action, according to state Sen. Fred Risser (D-Madison) who has served in the Legislature since 1957. It was also the first time since at least 1987 that the Senate has rejected a gubernatorial cabinet secretary.

[…]

“To think that they have to keep their mouths shut for the next, who knows, four years in order to be approved by this Senate,” said Evers. “It’s absolute bullshit.”

Yes, yes… checks and balances are “bullshit.”

Evers Administration Fails to Implement Law

by | 2056, 23 Oct 1919 | , | 33 Comments

Rogue administration.

Wisconsin officials faced an Oct. 1 deadline to put in place drug screening requirements for certain FoodShare recipients. But three weeks later, the state Department of Health Services has yet to implement them.

A DHS official didn’t indicate in a Monday email to the Cap Times that the department has a timeline for doing so.

It’s not uncommon for agencies to delay the implementation of certain changes. But DHS also has yet to submit a report or any updates to the Legislature’s budget committee on its plan to put in place the drug screening, testing and treatment requirements for certain non-disabled adults without children that are participating in the FoodShare Employment and Training program.

That requirement — as well as the Oct. 1 implementation deadline — was included in legislation approved under former Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s administration. But a review of DHS reports to the Joint Finance Committee didn’t uncover any related to the FSET drug screening provisions, including any requests for a timeline extension to implement the requirements.

Business Journal Advances Evers’ False Narrative

by | 1148, 2 Oct 1919 | | 5 Comments

Goodness, my eyes hurt from the eye rolling.

Call him no-drama Tony.

As a former school administrator and cancer survivor, Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers brings a non-politician’s approach to his contentious dealings with Republicans who control both houses of the Wisconsin Legislature. Evers discussed his philosophy Monday in Milwaukee during WTMJ radio’s “WTMJ 2020” broadcast from the Northern Lights Theater at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino.

This is exactly the image that Evers wants to portray, but despite the Milwaukee Business Journal’s willingness to parrot Evers’ narrative, his actions belie that fiction. Evers is proving to be one of the most divisive, partisan politicians we have ever seen.

From the beginning, he has been unwilling to even meet with Republican lawmakers on a regular basis. He dismissed Republican ideas without even reading them. He utterly dismissed people’s legitimate concerns with his gun control initiatives as “bullshit.” That’s hardly the language of a “no-drama” cooperation. Then there was the time that Evers’ spokesperson made the demonstrably false accusation that Republican leaders were sexist. Or the time Evers illegally ramrodded appointments into place – a move that was later reversed by the Supreme Court. Remember that time right after he was elected when Republicans went out of their way to reach across the aisle with some bipartisan bills and Evers blew them off?  Or the time Evers intentionally usurped an issue with broad bipartisan agreement so that he could poke Republicans in the eye? Then there was the time that he tried to break the law by concealing a really nice and generous note from his predecessor because Evers didn’t want to allow Governor Walker to be shown in a good light. Last week Evers was using his power to set the date for a special election in a way to screw Republicans as much as he could at the expense of taxpayers and voters. Right up until yesterday when Evers threw more shade on Republicans for opposing his desire to give taxpayer bennies to illegal aliens. Instead of actually discussing or even acknowledging legitimate concerns, Evers simply dismissed Republican opposition as divisive.

In almost every instance, Evers has chosen the narrow, partisan path lined with divisive, dismissive rhetoric. If he is trying to reduce drama and contentiousness, he sucks at it.

“pragmatic policies that Wisconsinites absolutely support”

by | 1655, 1 Oct 1919 | | 4 Comments

So… according to our governor, Wisconsinites absolutely support drivers licenses and taxpayer-subsidized college tuition for illegal aliens. Uh huh.

Gov. Tony Evers knocked Republican lawmakers for striking the budget provisions he backed that would have granted driver’s licenses and in-state college tuition to undocumented immigrants.

“At the end of the day, it was all about politics,” Evers said of the decision Thursday. “Republicans put divisiveness and ideology before pragmatic policies that Wisconsinites absolutely support.”

Evers Continues to Lie About Dates for Special Election

by | 1005, 1 Oct 1919 | | 2 Comments

Look, we’ve had special elections before. He’s not reinventing the wheel here. The law is pretty clear and accounts for this exact scenario:

Evers has not yet finalized the new schedule, but his aides are in talks on the issue with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

Aides to Evers are focused on two possibilities for the new schedule.

Under one scenario, the primary would be held Feb. 4 and the general election would be held April 7. That would mean the special election would be held the same day as Wisconsin’s presidential primary and regular spring election for state Supreme Court and local offices. Under that schedule, the congressional primary would be held two weeks before the primary for Supreme Court and local offices.

Under the second schedule being considered for the special election, the primary would be held Feb. 18 and the general election would be held May 5. That would mean the congressional and Supreme Court primary were on the same day, but the general elections would be held at different times.

Evers doesn’t have the option of having the special primary and special election on the same dates as the spring primary and spring general election, according to his office.

Here’s the relevant statute:

(2) Date of special election.
(a) The date for the special election shall be not less than 62 nor more than 77 days from the date of the order except when the special election is held to fill a vacancy in a national office or the special election is held on the day of the general election or spring election. If a special election is held concurrently with the spring election, the special election may be ordered not earlier than 92 days prior to the spring primary and not later than 49 days prior to that primary. If a special election is held concurrently with the general election or a special election is held to fill a national office, the special election may be ordered not earlier than 122 days prior to the partisan primary or special primary, respectively, and not later than 92 days prior to that primary.
(b) If a primary is required, the primary shall be on the day 4 weeks before the day of the special election except when the special election is held on the same day as the general election the special primary shall be held on the same day as the partisan primary or if the special election is held concurrently with the spring election, the primary shall be held concurrently with the spring primary, and except when the special election is held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November of an odd-numbered year, the primary shall be held on the 2nd Tuesday of August in that year.
In other words, the excuse that he can’t just have the special election on the spring election schedule is bunk. Of course he can. He’s looking for an excuse not to.

Special Session Coming

by | 0811, 1 Oct 1919 | | 0 Comments

If I were Vos or Fitzgerald, I would use the special session to pass Constitutional Carry or criminal justice reform.

The governor of the state of Wisconsin says that we should soon expect the state legislature to address the issues of gun control.

Governor Tony Evers went 1-on-1 with WTMJ’s John Mercure during WTMJ 2020 (listen above at 23:38 in the podcast player above). In their discussion, Evers spoke of what he says is expected to come.

“We will have a special session,” said the Governor.

“I’m convinced we will be making that announcement within a week, maybe two weeks.”

Evers chooses partisan politics over good government

by | 0757, 1 Oct 1919 | | 0 Comments

My column for the Washington County Daily News is online and in print. This morning I’m seeing that Evers is reconsidering the date, but is still considering some arbitrary date in January. The easiest and most sensible thing is to just hold the special election during the April cycle. That is, it is the easiest and most sensible thing if Evers isn’t trying to use this for political advantage.

Despite the attempts by his media allies to portray him as a genteel great-grandfather, Gov. Tony Evers has proven to be as rabidly partisan as any governor in recent memory. In the most recent example, Governor Evers has used his routine power and responsibility to set the date of a special election in a way that baffles voters, depresses turnout, and unnecessarily costs taxpayers thousands of dollars. He was willing to do all of that in order to create a possible political advantage for the Democratic Party.

[…]

The date that Evers chose for the special election is Monday, Jan. 27, with a primary on Monday, Dec. 30. Evers claimed that he wanted to ensure that the citizens of the 7th District were without representation for as little time as possible and January 27 was the soonest he could have called an election. That is untrue. By statute, the governor could have called the election as early as December 24. Christmas Eve would have been a poor time for election but holding the election a full 33 days later is not the earliest convenient date.

Then, Governor Evers chose a Monday. There is not a law that says that special elections must be held on a Tuesday, but generations of Wisconsinites have been conditioned to go to their polling places to vote on Tuesdays. There was no compelling reason to change that tradition in this case other than Governor Evers was trying to leverage some angle.

So why would Governor Evers schedule a special election on a Monday in late January? The date will depress turnout and cost the taxpayers thousands of dollars to pay for the special election. Why? The simple answer is: partisan political advantage.

First, in a Republican-leaning district, Governor Evers is hoping that by depressing turnout, it will benefit the Democratic candidate. An energized minority can beat a complacent majority if the turnout is small enough. It is a long shot, but Evers is willing to do his part.

Second, and perhaps more importantly, the voters of Wisconsin will be electing a state Supreme Court Justice on the April ballot. While a nonpartisan race, recent history has seen liberals and Democrats line up behind one candidate and conservatives and Republicans support the other. Evers is hoping to minimize turnout in the Republican-leaning 7th District for the April election by not giving the voters something that may motivate them to vote on more than a dull Supreme Court race.

The most sensible thing for the governor to have done would have been to just hold the special election during the April election. It was the most cost-effective choice and would have ensured the largest turnout. Choosing the April election would have been just good government. Instead, Governor Evers chose a date designed to benefit his party at the expense of the voters and taxpayers of the 7th Congressional District.

Evers Criticized for Special Election Dates

by | 1516, 27 Sep 1919 | | 3 Comments

He’s even taking heat from the liberal Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.

Who holds elections on a Monday, anyway?

And why would anyone in their right mind choose to hold a primary right smack dab in the middle of the Christmas and Hanukah holidays? (Speaker Robin Vos has just asked Gov. Evers to change the date, ostensibly out of tender regard for the sensibilities of Wisconsin Jews, who would be celebrating the last day of Hanukah on Dec. 30.)

“I’m not aware of any elections being held before on a Monday, nor between Christmas and New Year’s Day,” says Reid Magney, public information officer for the Wisconsin Elections Commission. The Elections Commission suggested a range of dates for Evers to choose from, including holding it concurrent with the spring election, Magney adds. And the Commission alerted Evers that there might be problems holding a primary during the Christmas holidays, including difficulty finding poll workers, Magney says.

Having a primary during the holidays just isn’t cool.

As Rep. Mark Pocan told reporters a few weeks ago, “If you have a primary or a general around Christmas … you get terrible turnout. … That doesn’t benefit anyone. You should want as many people as possible to participate.”

That’s precisely the point here: Evers has made a decision that is anti-democratic, small “d.” Because of his decision, the turnout is likely to be one of the lowest in Wisconsin history.

Evers Lied About “Earliest Date”

by | 2146, 25 Sep 1919 | | 1 Comment

From Dan O’Donnell

The Governor’s office told WisPolitics.com that state law mandated that the earliest a special election could have been called is January 21st, but with a statutorily required primary four weeks earlier, the primary date would have been on Tuesday, December 24th—Christmas Eve.

This is a bald-faced lie.

The Wisconsin Election Commission confirms that the earliest that the special election could be is actually December 24th, and that Governor Evers could have scheduled it any day between then and January 31.

“If an [executive] order was issued on the effective date of the vacancy, Sept. 23rd, the special election could be no earlier than December 24th, with the special primary on November 26th,” Elections Commission staff attorney Michael Haas said in an email. “An order could be timed to schedule the special election anytime between December 24th and January 31st.”

Evers, then, could have avoided the holiday week altogether by scheduling the special election on Tuesday, January 14th with a primary on Tuesday, December 17th or on Tuesday January 7th with a primary on Tuesday, December 10th.

He just didn’t want to.

Governor Evers is considering tyranny

by | 0754, 25 Sep 1919 | , , , | 0 Comments

Here is my full column that ran in the Washington County Daily News yesterday. Enjoy!

Not willing to concern himself with Constitutional constrictions or with concocting actual solutions to America’s crime problem, Governor Tony Evers announced two pieces of anti-civil rights legislation. The first bill is for Wisconsin to implement red-flag laws. The second bill is for universal background checks. Neither bill stands much chance in a legislature where civil rights are valued and protected, but it was what Evers said during the announcement that revealed his more tyrannical inclinations.

As for the bills that Evers proposed, this column detailed how red-flag laws are unworkable if we are still insistent on maintaining our 1st, 2nd, and 4th Amendment rights, and I hope that we still are insistent. So-called universal background checks are not necessarily constitutionally odious, but they impose a heavy regulatory burden on law-abiding citizens without actually doing anything about crime. The worst part about the imposition of universal background checks is that it allows politicians to claim that they are doing something when, in fact, they have done nothing except inconvenience a bunch of innocent people.

During the press conference announcing his proposals, Governor Evers was asked by a reporter if he would be willing to support a mandatory gun buyback program. Evers answered by saying that he would “consider it.” Only someone completely devoid of any respect for history and our civil rights would even consider such an oppressive idea.

The key word in mandatory gun buybacks is “mandatory.” We have had gun buybacks for years where misguided do-gooders and cynical politicians give people money for their old guns so that they can pretend to take guns out of the hands of criminals. Voluntary gun buybacks are useless in terms of crime prevention, but harmless.

“Mandatory” gun buybacks are exactly that. It is the government forcing citizens to surrender their firearms to the government, and if the citizens refuse, the government will use the full violent force of government to compel the citizens to comply. This force includes depriving citizens of property, liberty, and in the case of an armed confrontation, possibly life.

If you think that mandatory gun buybacks would stop at the “scary-looking gun du jour,” like the AR-15 or the AK-47, you have not paid attention to history or human nature. Once all of those are wrested from the hands of unwilling citizens, the despots will simply move onto the next target in the gun safe.

This is what Governor Evers casually said that he would consider. He would consider a full assault on our civil rights by having our government use its police power to confiscate firearms from law-abiding people. It is a disgraceful and tyrannical attitude from our governor.

Unfortunately, Governor Evers’ willingness to violate our civil rights is part of a growing trend in the radicalized Democratic Party. In the past, even liberal Democrats who supported more gun control laws would insist that they would never advocate taking away our guns. Now liberals like Governor Evers are quite willing to admit that they want to take away our guns.

With the liberals’ resurgent interest in trammeling our civil rights, it is important that all of us make a firm statement in the voting booth that we will not tolerate such an assault on our rights. In April, Wisconsinites will have the chance to affirm that we insist that our government remain restrained by our state and federal constitutions by electing Justice Dan Kelly to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

After spending a career in private practice, Justice Kelly was appointed to the Supreme Court by Governor Walker after Justice David Prosser resigned from the court in 2016. In his almost three years on the court, Justice Kelly has honored his promises and honored his commitment to be a humble defender of the rule of law and our individual rights.

Governor Evers may consider assailing our rights and seizing our guns, but he and his fellow liberal travelers will never be able to do it as long as judicial conservatives sit on the Supreme Court. Electing Justice Kelly to a full term on the bench is our next chance to make our will known at the ballot box.

Evers Picks 7th CD Special Election Date

by | 1306, 24 Sep 1919 | | 2 Comments

Earlier this month, I said that Evers was going to, “pick a date that gives the Democrats maximum advantage.” Sure enough.

Gov. Tony Evers on Monday called for a special election in January to fill the vacancy in northern Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District. The announcement came the same day U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Weston, resigned the position.

“Our rural communities have been directly affected by unproductive trade wars, political attacks on health care and public education, and economic uncertainty because of the volatility we’re seeing in Washington, D.C.,” Evers said in a statement announcing the Jan. 27 special election. “The people of Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District deserve to have a voice in Congress, which is why I am calling for a special election to occur quickly to ensure the people of the 7th Congressional District have representation as soon as possible.

[…]

As governor, Evers can order a special election once a congressional seat becomes vacant. If a primary is required, it will be held Dec. 30.

Never mind that this creates all sorts of unnecessary expenses for the taxpayers to hold a special election. Never mind that the normal primary election day of February 18th is only three weeks later. Never mind that it’s weird to have an election on a Monday. In a district that is fairly strongly Republican, Evers picked a date that would give the Democrats the best chance possible by depressing turnout. Also, it has the added benefit of not boosting Republican turnout during the April election for Supreme Court by putting something else for Republicans to vote for on the ballot.

As I said before, it’s the governor’s prerogative, but let’s not pretend that he’s doing anything other than leveraging his constitutional duty in a way to benefit his party.

Governor Evers Open to Gun Confiscation

by | 1957, 19 Sep 1919 | | 1 Comment

I wonder if Evers has one of those Banksy frames that shreds the Constitution.

During the governor’s news conference, a reporter asked Evers if he would support a mandatory buyback program.

Evers first said he’s focused on red-flag and universal background check legislation, but when pressed, said he’s open to the idea of mandatory buybacks.

“I’d consider it, but my focus is on these two bills,” Evers said.

O’Rourke, a former Texas congressman, turned heads during the presidential debate last week when he proclaimed, “Hell, yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47,” in arguing that guns meant for warfare should be banned. He called for a mandatory buyback of assault-style rifles to prevent gun violence after a mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso in early August.

Wisconsin is Still Waiting on Evers to Call a Special Election for 7th CD

by | 1905, 3 Sep 1919 | | 28 Comments

Heh.

Gov. Tony Evers says he is waiting for a recommendation from his legal team about when to call a special election for the congressional district being vacated by retiring U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy.

Evers told reporters Thursday that he doesn’t know yet if he will have the special election correspond with the state’s presidential primary in April. There is also state Supreme Court election that day.

[…]

The Democratic Evers said he is more concerned with finding a date that works well for that northwestern Wisconsin congressional district than one that might benefit Democrats.

Uh huh… it should take about eight minutes to check the law regarding calling a special election, pull out a calendar, and pick a date. And that date should be one of the regular election dates coming up so that it isn’t an extra cost for the taxpayers. It’s not that difficult if that is your only consideration.

If, however, you are waiting to see what Democratic candidates are jumping in, allowing party leaders to coalesce behind a favorite and get an organization together, and pick a date that gives the Democrats maximum advantage, then it takes a little longer to decide. It’s certainly Evers’ prerogative to use this duty in a way that gives his party as much advantage as possible. Let’s just not pretend that he’s doing otherwise.

Our rights are not ‘BS’

by | 0702, 28 Aug 1919 | | 1 Comment

Here is my full column that ran in the Washington County Daily News yesterday.

Gov. Tony Evers is still pushing for the Wisconsin Legislature to pass new gun-control legislation and threatening to call a special session to do so. He went so far as to call people’s concerns over his gun-control measures as “BS,” as if adult deliberation and constitutional considerations are now unwelcome in Madison. At the risk of our governor stamping his feet and pouting, let us explore the legitimate concerns with his proposals.

Evers is advocating two new gun-control laws. The first law he wants is universal background checks. The concerns over universal background checks are not so much constitutional as practical. Under current law, any person who purchases a firearm from a gun store or licensed firearm dealer is required to pass a background check. This includes sale of guns at gun shows.

Current law does not, however, require background checks for a private sale or transfer of a firearm. Universal background checks would require that someone undergo a background check in virtually all circumstances. In some versions, this includes when a firearm is passed through inheritance, given as a gift, or even loaned. While probably not constitutionally prohibitive, such checks are monstrously unwieldy. It puts the burden of conducting a background check onto private individuals and criminalizes them if they fail to comply. In their worst derivations, universal-background-check laws require a firearm registry to track the movement and ownership of firearms. The cost and hassle of enforcement and compliance far exceed the usefulness of the law.

A red flag law is far more problematic. The premise of a red flag law is that people who are about to commit mass murder often exhibit troubling behaviors that could be reported so that government officials could confiscate their firearms before they do something bad. The problem with a red flag law is not even its flagrant assault on our Second Amendment rights. The problem it the fact that it tramples on our First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendment rights to get to our Second Amendment Rights.

Under a red flag law, a person’s First Amendment right to speak freely would be infringed. If a person makes some uneasy, outlandish, or even violent statements, the government could seize their firearms. For every mass killer who said something stupid and violent, there are a million other Americans who have said something stupid and violent and never acted on it. A red flag law would have the government cracking down on people for the simple act of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time in front of the wrong people.

Our right to be secure in our “persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures” is protected by our Constitution’s Fourth Amendment. Under a red flag law, the government would be given the power to arbitrarily seize a person’s firearms because another person thinks they might be dangerous. Surely, such a low standard cannot be construed to be reasonable, or the notion of being secure in one’s person is rendered meaningless.

Our Constitution’s Fifth Amendment protects the people from being “deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.” Under a red flag law, the entire point of it is that the government seizes the firearms without needing to actually convict someone of a crime. The person whose firearms are seized is utterly deprived of due process except for the process to get his or her firearms returned. Even then, the burden rests on the accused to prove that he or she does not intend to commit a crime in order to have the firearms returned. The shift of the burden of proof, coupled with the impossibility of proving a negative, undermines the rule of law.

With a red flag law in place, the government would bulldoze through at least three constitutionally protected rights before depriving a person of the constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms.

When considering any proposed law, a good rule of thumb is to imagine the law being enforced by your worst enemy. Universal background checks and a red flag law could be brutally enforced by a despotic government and still not stop a single mass murder.

Governor Evers knows that the Republican Legislature is too responsible to pass these laws, so he has the luxury of posturing for the media. But the governor’s casual and crude disregard for the rights that these laws would trammel is precisely why they should not be passed.

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