Wisconsinites seek model from Tennesseans on bipartisan conversations about guns

Yahoo

01-04-2025

More than 100 people attended the event at the Overture Center for the Arts in Madison, which included a screening of the documentary about the Tennesseeans' journey and a panel discussion with two of the participants and a handful of Wisconsinites. Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner.
Madison School Board member Ali Muldrow said people who work in education know that the 'worst day' is when children get hurt in school.
'When the Abundant Life shooting happened, which was at a private Christian School very close to my home, it was just a really horrible day, and I think I realized it's too late to talk about this,' Muldrow said. 'It's been too late and we can't keep letting it be too late.'
A teacher and student were killed and six others were injured by a 15-year-old who brought a gun to Abundant Life Christian School, a private school in Madison, in December 2024. It is the deadliest school shooting on record in Wisconsin.
The shooting made national headlines, but it is just one example of children harmed by gun violence. According to the K-12 School Shooting Database, there were 332 school shootings in 2024. A 2024 report by Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions found firearms continue to be a leading cause of death for children and teens, and those who are Black are disproportionately the victims
Muldrow, who is running unopposed for another term on the Board this spring, said measures taken to try to prevent shooting deaths at school have not been enough.
'All of the things that we've done to our students haven't resolved this issue — whether it's practicing and having drills or whether it's making our schools harder places to get into,' Muldrow said. 'None of that changes the reality that a 15-year-old went into their school, two guns, and killed multiple people, including themselves.'
Students from Madison Metropolitan School District walked out of class in December and marched to the state Capitol to demand something be done about gun violence.
'They asked for two things,' Muldrow said. 'They asked for laws related to gun storage and gun safety, and they asked for more mental health support within their education.'
Muldrow said that adults should 'honor' the demands of the students and build bridges across political divides to get the work done. She said having conversations is an important starting point.
In the aftermath of the Madison school shooting, Muldrow said she wanted to organize an event to inspire people in the community to feel capable of making change. She turned to a group that tried to find solutions after a school shooting took place about two years ago and more than 620 miles away.
Tennesseans were left reeling in 2023 after a shooter killed three 9-year-olds and three adults at the private Christian Covenant elementary school. A nonprofit organization called Builders (formerly known as Starts With Us) that seeks to ease political polarization brought together a group of 11 Tennessee residents with a range of opinions on the issue of guns to discuss and come up with some solutions.
Muldrow was part of a similar group in Wisconsin in 2024 that explored the debate on abortion. She saw a documentary about the Tennessee group and thought its approach could be a way for the community affected by the Abundant Life shooting to come together and find a way forward.
Muldrow said that the point of the event she helped organize Sunday was not necessarily to 'mirror or mimic what happened in Tennessee, but to learn from that collaborative attitude towards solutions.'
More than 100 people attended the event at the Overture Center for the Arts in Madison, which included a screening of the documentary about the Tennesseeans' journey and a panel discussion with two of the participants and a handful of Wisconsinites.
Charles Franklin, director of the Marquette Law School Poll noted during the panel that potential solutions to gun violence would look different for Wisconsin, given the difference in state laws and the general beliefs of residents in each state. A key point of disagreement among participants in the documentary centered on concealed carry permits and whether they should be mandated. Tennessee has allowed for permitless carry of handguns since 2021.
Wisconsin already requires a permit for concealed carry, however, and it's mostly not a partisan debate, Franklin said. According to the most recent polling, about 65% of Wisconsinites support concealed carry, but only under certain circumstances.
'We do have a concealed carry law that requires a permit. When the Legislature has considered concealed carry without a permit, we found only about 20% support for that, about 80% opposition,' Franklin said. 'There is a distinction that the public makes… public opinion is quite opposed to that form of concealed carry, but solidly in favor of [concealed carry] with a permit.'
Franklin said he thought proposals that originate from and garner support among Second Amendment supporters should be celebrated. He noted that there is a Republican bill that's been introduced in Wisconsin that would create a tax exemption for gun safes.
'That's a small, incremental matter of, what, 5 ½% on the cost of the safe, but on the other hand, when you think of children's access to guns in the home, access to those guns by burglars or other circumstances,' it could be a significant step, Franklin said.
Franklin said the idea that 'if you don't get everything you've got nothing' is a huge barrier to progress.
'I would just stress that incremental improvements are still improvements,' Franklin said.
Steve D'Orazio, founder and president of the Oregon, Wis., gun shop and range Max Creek Outdoors said during the panel that his business works hard to educate people who acquire guns. He said he has been working with a doctor at the UW Health System to educate doctors on guns and have them talk with their patients about gun safety and awareness, including keeping guns locked away.
'My goal is the safety of our children,' D'Orazio said.
The solution to school shootings he emphasized the most was implementing metal detectors in all schools.
'Every one of us here today walked through the front door of this building and we walked through a metal detector, but our schools don't have metal detectors,' D'Orazio said. 'I sell guns. That's our business. There's so much education that we do at our shop to make sure that the gun owner doesn't get hurt and that they use it correctly…, but every school district should have a metal detector. That's how you're going to stop this stuff.'
The documentary shows the Tennessee group taking and presenting their recommendations at the Tennessee State Capitol. Those recommendations included temporary removal of firearms based on risk of violence, developing tools to support responsible gun ownership, expanding the role of school resource officers, investing in community to reduce trauma and developing gun literacy resources for schools, communities and media.
Tennessee leaders did pass a bill in 2024 requiring education in schools about guns, a policy similar to the recommendation of the group. Though the end result was not exactly as participants imagined it.
Adam Luke, a Tennessee marriage and family counselor and conservative, spoke to how the 'rush to be right' by lawmakers on the issue may diminish the effectiveness of the legislation.
'People will not be able to opt out [of the curriculum]. Now, I would like to turn to conservative America and say, 'If you did not have the ability to opt your child out of sex education would that bother you?'' Luke asked. 'This is what happens when you have super majorities.'
Luke said that the Tennessee Department of Education also doesn't have the curriculum for teachers and just recently closed the public response period. He said lawmakers were so quick to want to get something done that they've created a policy that may not be effective.
'Let's say that we did something, but guess what? We forgot to actually give you the resources to be successful with it,' Luke said.
Political polarization was on display following the Madison school shooting. Muldrow said she has been 'saddened' by the divide.
'It's really hard to see our Legislature be so divided and in such a contentious relationship with our governor, and it's a shame because all of these people represent us and there is an expectation that they work together,' Muldrow said.
Since the shooting, Gov. Tony Evers has launched the Office of Violence Prevention and has proposed adopting further gun safety policies including stricter background checks and red flag laws. Republican lawmakers were quick to criticize Evers' proposals and have been developing their own proposals for addressing school shootings, including financial support for the Office of School Safety and allowing teachers to be armed.
The Madison Common Council and the Dane County Board of Supervisors both passed resolutions urging the Legislature to take action and implement common-sense gun measures.
Steven Olikara, a former candidate for Wisconsin Senate and founder of the nonpartisan organization the Future Caucus, said the actions of local leaders and Evers are a step forward, but the state needs to take bigger steps.
'Those bigger steps will come from bringing Democrats and Republicans together in a real way and building trust,' Olikara said. 'And I think conversations like this can help create that kind of momentum. [When people are at] each other's throats, the kind of progress you make is very small and very incremental. When you have conversations like the one today, you can reach transformative change, and that's really what we need.'
Tennessee educator Alyssa Pearman, who lost one of her students to gun violence, said the key is to keep showing up to have the conversations.
'You are going to be told no, and you are going to have people who have no interest in making a change and being a builder, but you keep showing up,' Pearman said. 'You find people who want to do something, who want a better tomorrow, and you have conversations like these… This is the type of conversation that needs to be had, whether it's in Wisconsin, whether it's in Tennessee and whatever state where we have this crisis.'
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