Milwaukee alderman's efforts to ban rifle bump stocks ahead of the RNC fail
With the Republican National Convention just days away, a Milwaukee alderman's proposals to prohibit bump stocks in the city and increase city penalties for disorderly conduct while armed with a dangerous weapon failed to move forward.
At a special Common Council meeting Thursday, the bump stock legislation was sent back to the Public Safety and Health Committee after the City Attorney's Office determined it was not legal and enforceable under state law. The disorderly conduct proposal was held in council after a lengthy and heated discussion.
"We had an opportunity to make things better for public safety in the city today, and it was thwarted, one by the state Legislature and one by members who didn't think the argument was as convincing as they would have liked," Ald. Scott Spiker, the measures' lead sponsor, said after the meeting.
Spiker earlier this month led the council in urging legislative action to ban bump stocks, devices that turn semi-automatic rifles into something more akin to a machine gun. The push came just ahead of the RNC, which will take place downtown Monday through Thursday and is expected to draw visitors with competing political ideologies even as the city is prevented from prohibiting most guns in the area directly outside the main convention venues.
At an earlier meeting Thursday, the Public Safety and Health Committee also backed allowing Milwaukee police officers to help with next month's Democratic National Convention in Chicago. While it gained support at the committee meeting, the legislation was not on the agenda for the council's afternoon special meeting.
Milwaukee alderman's effort to ban bump stocks ahead of RNC thwarted by state law
The measure Spiker proposed seeks to ban bump stocks in Milwaukee, which he argued would keep citizens of Milwaukee safe.
However, at the committee meeting, Deputy City Attorney Robin Pederson said the measure directly went against state statute, which prohibits municipalities from enacting more stringent restrictions on guns than those in state law. Since Wisconsin does not ban bump stocks, Milwaukee could not ban them, Pederson said.
Spiker disagreed with the City Attorney's Office's analysis, and he argued that bump stocks were not technically a "part" of a gun.
"It's your opinion that it's clear that in the black letter of the law it's very obvious that ... they mean 'part' in this expansive sense which encompasses bump stocks as a part," Spiker said to Pederson. "And I'm here to show you that's wrong."
To demonstrate his point, Spiker pulled out a beer can and stuck gum on the top, asking if the gum was now a part of the beer can. He also put the can in a koozie and asked if that counted as part of the beer can.
Pederson said that the example and the law they were dealing with were not analogous.
Despite the city attorney's explanation that the law was not legal and enforceable, the committee recommended the proposed ordinance.
"We should at least pass this to the council, get it kicked back at a later date, unfortunately, and then pass it then and say to the mayor, 'I thought you like gun control, I thought you want to keep people safe, here’s an ordinance that is trying to do that,'" Spiker said.
After the ordinance gained the committee's recommendation, it was returned to the committee at council because of the City Attorney's Office's finding.
With the RNC beginning Monday, the measure cannot be passed in time for the convention.
Proposed $5,000 fine for disorderly conduct with a dangerous weapon held in Milwaukee Common Council following heated debate
Spiker's other proposal to give police the power to issue a municipal fine up to $5,000 for disorderly conduct with a dangerous weapon failed to move forward after a heated debate.
Other council members raised concerns about the broader implications of such an ordinance outside the RNC, and eight voted to hold it in council.
Milwaukee Ald. Mark Chambers Jr., who represents District 2 on Milwaukee's northwest side, raised concerns that the ordinance would be employed differently across the racially segregated city.
"I really want you to really understand where we’re coming from," he told Spiker. "It’s not us trying to attack what you're doing, but the impact on the residents that we represent that could run into … situations is where I have problems with it. That's it. That's all, and I think we need more dialogue than right now."
Under the proposed ordinance, anyone who has, uses or threatens to use a dangerous weapon while committing disorderly conduct could be fined up to $5,000 or imprisoned.
The proposal would not apply if a person only has a gun and "other facts and circumstances do not indicate criminal or malicious intent."
Current city ordinance defines disorderly conduct as "violent, abusive, indecent, profane, boisterous, unreasonably loud, or otherwise disorderly conduct under circumstances in which such conduct tends to cause or provoke a disturbance."
Milwaukee could send 75 police officers to Democratic National Convention in Chicago
Under another proposal, the City of Milwaukee could authorize 75 officers to head to Chicago to provide security for the Democratic National Convention, which will be held Aug. 19-22.
The City of Chicago requested 75 officers during the week of the convention and MPD officers' tasks will include providing security at delegate hotels and buses and performing crowd and traffic control.
The measure would allow Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman to enter an intergovernmental cooperation agreement between the two cities, provided the agreement is reviewed by the city attorney and Wisconsin attorney general. The city of Milwaukee would be reimbursed for the costs of sending officers.
The committee backed the measure. The next full council meeting is July 30.
Alison Dirr can be reached at [email protected]. Tristan Hernandez can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee alderman's efforts to ban bump stocks ahead of RNC blocked
