MADISON, Wis. (AP) - The Latest on the Wisconsin Legislature’s special session on gun control (all times local):
9:40 p.m.
Gov. Tony Evers says Republicans in the Legislature just told a majority of Wisconsin residents to “go jump in a lake” by not voting on a pair of gun control measures.
The Senate and Assembly on Thursday both essentially ignored the governor’s call for a special session to take up a universal background check and “red flag” bill. Evers cited polls showing more than 80% support for the issues and said Republicans didn’t have the courage to take a vote.
Evers says Republicans “did so at their own peril” because now they have to explain their action to voters.
Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos accused Evers of playing politics and said he wasn’t going to vote on bills he knew wouldn’t pass.
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9:30 p.m.
Wisconsin Republicans dodged the Democratic governor’s call to pass a pair of gun control bills during a special session, brushing aside advocates’ demands to take action before more people die.
Gov. Tony Evers, the state attorney general, gun control advocates and Democratic lawmakers all urged Republicans to vote on the bills Thursday. But Republicans ignored them, convening the special session separately in the Senate and Assembly and adjourning within seconds without taking action.
Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald convened and then immediately adjourned the session about 30 seconds later in an empty Senate chamber. The Assembly was in session about 10 seconds.
Evers last month ordered a special session for Thursday afternoon to address a bill that would impose universal background checks on gun sales. Another bill Evers wanted them to pass would establish a so-called red flag law in Wisconsin. Such laws allow family members and police to ask judges to temporarily seize firearms from people who may pose a threat.
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8:44 p.m.
The Republican leader of the Wisconsin Senate gaveled into a special session on gun control and ended it 30 seconds later.
Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald took the action in an empty Senate chamber Thursday night shortly after 8 p.m. He has long opposed the special session called by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers to pass a universal background check and “red flag” bill.
Gov. Tony Evers, the state attorney general, gun control advocates and Democratic lawmakers all urged Republicans to vote on the bills. But Republicans ignored them.
The Assembly planned to take similar action, quickly convening and adjourning the special session, later Thursday night.
Democrats say Republicans are ignoring what the public wants and putting public safety at risk.
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1:45 p.m.
Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos is accusing Democratic Gov. Tony Evers of “playing politics” by calling a special session on gun control.
Vos said the Assembly will not debate or vote on the bills Thursday in the special session. He plans to gavel in and quickly adjourn the session. The Senate is doing the same thing.
Vos says, “I don’t necessarily want to spend a bunch of time playing politics with this which is what it seems our Democratic colleagues want to do.”
Democrats say Republicans should pass universal background checks and a “red flag” law in part because polls show broad public support.
Vos says Republicans won’t support the bills because they infringe upon Second Amendment gun rights.
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1:30 p.m.
Several dozen people are rallying on the steps of the state Capitol in Madison in hopes of persuading Republican lawmakers to vote on two bills restricting firearm ownership.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers called a special legislation session on the bills for Thursday afternoon. The measures would mandate universal background checks and allow family members or police to ask judges to temporarily seize guns from people who pose a threat. Republicans who control the Legislature say they won’t even debate the bills.
About 75 people rallied outside the Capitol ahead of the session in sub-freezing temperatures. They held signs that read “#allowthevote” and “Protect Kids Not NRA,” a reference to the National Rifle Association.
Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul warmed up the crowd, saying it’s time for Republicans to act and people have had enough of “political cowardice.”
Thomas Leager of the conservative group Wisconsin Patriots Alliance showed up in a sweat-shirt emblazoned with a picture of a revolver. He told a reporter that universal background checks would be unmanageable and police breaking down doors to seize people’s guns would result in only more deaths.
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11:45 a.m.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is demanding Republican legislators vote on a pair of bills restricting firearm ownership.
Evers in October ordered a special legislative session on gun control to begin Tuesday afternoon. He wants to them to vote on bills mandating universal background checks and allowing family members or police to ask judges to temporarily seize firearms from people who pose a threat.
Republican leaders say they won’t even consider the bills. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald says he plans to gavel in and gavel out seconds later, ending the session.
Evers sent Fitzgerald and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos a letter Thursday morning blasting them for “ignoring the will of the people” and demanding they vote on the proposals. He says Wisconsin residents deserve to know where their legislators stand on the bills.
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11:35 a.m.
Gun-control advocates are imploring Wisconsin Republicans to pass a pair of bills restricting firearm ownership during a legislative special session.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in October ordered a special session to begin Thursday afternoon on bills mandating universal background checks and allowing judges to temporarily seize guns from people who pose a threat.
Republicans have said they won’t so much as debate the bills. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald has said his chamber plans to gavel in and immediately gavel out, ending the session in that house.
A group of gun control advocates held a news conference Thursday morning in the state Capitol. They called the bills moderate, common-sense proposals that most Wisconsin residents support.
Karly Scholz, a 16-year-old junior at Madison West High School, is the Wisconsin state director for March for Our Lives, an anti-gun group that formed in the wake of a school shooting in Parkland, Florida. She said she and her fellow students go to school every day fearing for their lives. She said Republicans’ refusal to take up the bills equates to the GOP saying students’ lives don’t matter.
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5:55 a.m.
Gun control advocates are set to rally in Madison ahead of a special legislative session on gun restrictions that’s expected to go nowhere.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers last month ordered a special session to take up bills mandating universal background checks and allowing judges to temporarily seize guns from people who pose a threat.
Groups including Moms Demand Action, Doctors for America and the Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee will hold news conferences and rally at the state Capitol ahead of the session.
Republicans have said they will gavel in and immediately gavel out, ending the session as soon as it begins.
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