Wisconsin Senate passes 'Second Amendment Sanctuary' bill

Bill expected to be vetoed by state’s governor as experts have classified it ‘purely symbolic’

The Wisconsin state Senate has passed a bill that might lead to a “Second Amendment Sanctuary” (AFP via Getty Images)

The state Senate in Wisconsin has voted to pass a bill that seeks to remove federal gun restrictions.

According to theMilwaukee Journal Sentinel, the bill was passed via voice vote, with 18 for and 12 against.

Those in favour of the bill believe it makes the state a “Second Amendment sanctuary” and those against believe the bill to be a violation of the US Constitution.

The Senate passed Assembly Bill 293, which bans “enforcing a federal act, law, statute, rule or regulation, treaty or order” that places limits on semi-automatic weapons, weapon registry and the amount of magazines..

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, a Democrat, is not expected to sign the bill into law, despite clearing both Wisconsin’s House of Representatives and in the Senate. Recently, he has advocated for more control over guns, not less.

Similar bills have become law across the US, most notably in states such as Arizona. Local governments have sought to preempt any federal gun control legislation the Biden administration may bring forward.

Brady, a pro-gun control advocacy group, said that so-called “Second Amendment sanctuaries” are “purely symbolic” and have no “legal weight”, according to their website.

They also state that the efforts by Republican state lawmakers are a “coordinated effort supported by politically motivated, national groups”.

The Wisconsin Senate vote comes as the federal government has announced steps to tackle rising crime rates across the country, including a crackdown on illegally sold guns.

“These merchants of death are breaking the law for profit,” President Joe Biden said on Wednesday. “If you willfully sell a gun to someone who’s prohibited, my message to you is this: We’ll find you and we’ll seek your license to sell guns. We’ll make sure you can’t sell death and mayhem on our streets.”

According to the National Gun Archive, 2021 is on track to a record year of gun fatalities. Presently, there have been 296 mass shootings so far this year. The gun violence tracking organisation define a “mass shooting” to be an incident with four or more people shot.