Do we value guns over lives? Bill to prohibit firearms at colleges needs action. | Opinion

Last month, an op-ed was published in more than 50 student newspapers across the country, signed by more than 150 student leaders. It opened with a heartbreaking statement:

“Students are taught to love a country that values guns over our lives.”

It is hard to hear, but it’s also hard to argue with the facts. Gun violence is now the No. 1 killer of children and young adults in the United States. Decades of rolling back gun safety laws while allowing easy access to guns is taking a deadly toll.

There are common-sense steps the Wisconsin Legislature can take to protect our students. According to Everytown for Gun Safety, in states where elected officials have taken action to pass gun safety laws, fewer people die by gun violence. Gun safety laws save lives – and when it comes to the strength of our gun laws, Wisconsin is falling behind. We must do better, and we must act now.

Unfortunately, Republicans in the legislature have been able to hide behind gerrymandered maps — enabling them to satisfy the demands of the extremist gun lobby, while ignoring students, parents, and community leaders begging them to take action. Numerous firearm safety bills have been introduced to make Wisconsin safer, several of them bipartisan, but few get even a public hearing.

Bill to help prevent school shootings on college campuses

Most recently, we introduced Senate Bill 982, which would prohibit a person from possessing a firearm in a building or on the grounds of a publicly or privately owned college or university, mirroring other gun-free school zones. Students, faculty, and staff in higher education should be able to teach and learn with the peace of mind that firearms are not welcome on campus. This is one of over a dozen proposals that could help reduce gun deaths, but it won’t see the light of day in the Republican-controlled legislature.

We are approaching the end of yet another legislative session without any meaningful action to reduce gun violence. When the session concludes this spring, legislators will return to their districts, kick off their reelection campaigns, and offer thoughts and prayers when more lives are needlessly and tragically lost to guns. Unless we act now, students will end and begin another school year in a state that values guns over their lives.

Together, we as Wisconsinites must make our voices heard by calling members of the legislature and demanding a public hearing on this and other firearm safety legislation. The next step toward safer communities is holding legislative leaders accountable and making them listen to the people who elected them.

Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, represents the 26th Senate District. Rep. Deb Andraca, D-Whitefish Bay, represents the 23rd Assembly District.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bill banning guns on campuses in Wisconsin quashed in legislature