Dear John,

The quote above is what Wisconsin legislator Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) said about gun violence prevention measures in early 2023. It’s how he and others justified removing every single gun violence prevention measure from the governor’s proposed budget.

Now it’s time to tell our legislators, including Senator Marklein, how we feel about their inaction. Because once these measures were introduced as bills, the response was conspicuous silence. Marklein and many other legislators suddenly seemed unconcerned with the public hearings he had previously claimed were so critical.

Here are some of the commonsense gun violence prevention measures that Marklein and other legislators ignored during this legislative session:

Requiring background checks on all gun sales
Implementing an extreme risk law
Helping gun stores and shooting ranges take part in gun suicide prevention
Disarming domestic abusers
Creating a statewide office of violence prevention
Establishing a tax incentive for safe storage options for gun owners
Taxing gun manufacturers
Prohibiting deadly ghost guns
Prohibiting guns on college campuses

Clearly, there is no shortage of policies that can help save lives. There is simply a shortage of legislators who care enough to act.

We’re letting our legislators know that we see their inaction. And we're letting them know that we will remember. Sign our letter now.