Vote over concealed weapons delayed again
Advocates scramble for support to override veto
By STEVEN WALTERS
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Posted: Jan. 28, 2004
Madison - An Assembly showdown on a bill to legalize concealed weapons was postponed for a second time Wednesday - another sign that Republicans still lack enough votes to override Gov. Jim Doyle's veto of the controversial measure.
apos Bill
"If they had the votes, we'd be voting right now," said Assembly Democratic Leader Jim Kreuser of Kenosha.
Assembly Speaker John Gard (R-Peshtigo) on Wednesday announced that the Assembly's attempt to override Doyle's veto would be postponed until Tuesday.
He expected all 99 Assembly members to be available Tuesday, he said. Barbara Toles won a special election this week to claim the 17th Assembly District, replacing Spencer Coggs. Toles should be sworn in by Tuesday, Gard added.
If the Assembly follows the Senate's lead and overrides the veto, Wisconsin would become the 47th state to allow the carrying of concealed weapons.
Gard said he planned to have the Assembly vote on the override Tuesday, even if his party is short the seven Democrats needed to override the veto.
The vote originally had been scheduled for this past Tuesday, but Gard on that day moved the vote to today. He rescheduled the vote again Wednesday, saying all other Assembly business set for today also would be delayed.
"The goal is to bring this to a conclusion on Tuesday," Gard said.
"The reality is, with all these unknowns out there, all 99 people should be here on Tuesday. We'll take the vote and let the chips fall where they may."
Gard said the state needs the law.
"I believe people should be able to defend themselves," he said.
In the 99-member Assembly, a two-thirds majority is needed to override a governor's veto.
In November, the Assembly voted 64-35 for the bill - two votes short of the number to override. But two Republicans who voted against the bill at that time are expected to switch. That means the override rests with the votes of seven Democrats who backed the bill the first time.
Kreuser said the new five-day delay will give National Rifle Association members and other groups pushing the concealed weapons law more time to e-mail, phone and otherwise pressure the seven Democrats.
"Now, it's not about the issue; it's about putting political heat on," Kreuser said.
Two Democrats who have refused to say how they will vote - Gary Sherman of Port Wing and John Steinbrink of Pleasant Prairie - are expected to get the most intense lobbying by both sides before Tuesday. Neither one was available for comment Wednesday.
Bill supporters will indeed use the next several days to try to influence legislators, said Darren LaSorte, a National Rifle Association official working in Wisconsin to get the veto overridden.
LaSorte again refused to predict the outcome of Tuesday's scheduled vote. But the final total to override the governor "won't be lower than 65," he predicted.
Doyle was in Janesville on Wednesday and not available for comment.
But Dan Leistikow, the governor's chief spokesman, said Gard's decision to cancel all of today's Assembly action "delays important work on venture capital legislation and a host of other matters."
Gard should "quit playing political games, hold a vote and get on with the people's business," Leistikow said.
From the Jan. 29, 2004 editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Original URL: http://www.jsonline.com/news/state/jan04/203378.asp
_______________________________________________ To post, send message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, unsubscribe, change options, or get password, see http://lists.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/firearmsregprof
