In the News

 

By Mike Lowe

 

MILWAUKEE (WITI) — On Capitol Hill on Wednesday, October 30th, amid the uproar over health care, Milwaukee Congresswoman Gwen Moore wanted to return the focus to gun control — and the brother of one of the victims in the Azana Salon & Spa shooting was on hand.

 

“Keep the heat on Congress to do something. I can tell you we’ve got to do it at the federal level, because our patchwork of state laws fail to keep the country safe as a whole. If common sense were common, we’d have passed this background check legislation. I have legislation that we have finalized and I am ready to drop, too,” Rep. Moore said.

 

Rep. Moore is introducing a bill that would provide a way for law enforcement to take guns away from domestic violence threats once a restraining order is in place.

 

“Zina’s perpetrator was prohibited from having a gun and he got a gun through a loophole.  There are other loopholes. What if you already own a gun?  There’s no sheriff collecting that gun immediately, and temporarily until that domestic violence order is lifted — taking that gun from you,” Rep. Moore said.

 

In the audience Wednesday was Elvin Daniel — the brother of Zina Daniel, one of three killed by Radcliffe Haughton in a shooting at the Azana Salon & Spa in Brookfield last October.

 

“(Haughton) couldn’t pass a background check. Couldn’t get a gun. So, he went on Armslist.com with an urgent message: ‘gotta have a gun, gotta have a gun right now.’ People say that ‘common sense legislation’ is just to have a background check, so we close loopholes,” Rep. Moore said.

 

“We need sensible gun laws in place,” Daniel said.

 

Daniel is a gun owner and NRA member pushing for background checks and supporting Rep. Moore’s proposal.

 

“There’s loopholes that allow people who shouldn’t own guns to go on the internet and different web sites and gun shows and purchase guns without even showing an ID — much less going through a background check.  I think those loopholes need to be closed,” Daniel said.

 

Gun control faces an uphill battle in Congress. U.S. Senator Ron Johnson spoke out against it in January.

 

“The fact is when you look at the history of gun control, it hasn’t worked. From my standpoint freedom comes first,” Sen. Johnson said.

 

“I keep saying, Zina’s not here to speak for herself, so we’re going to speak for her for as long as I can until we pass sensible gun laws to save other lives — to prevent other families from going through what I’m going through,” Daniel said.

 

According to top federal crime statistics, on average, 46 women are shot to death every month in acts of domestic violence.