Milwaukee crime bill announced by Republican lawmakers as Democrats accuse Wisconsin of doing "less than nothing"

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A Milwaukee gun violence bill was unveiled for the first time Wednesday by Republican state lawmakers.

It comes close to the one year mark of violence that broke out in the streets of Sherman Park after an officer involved shooting.

The bill cracks down on second hand gun sales.

It targets the so called "human holster" or "straw purchasers" who buy a gun for a person who can't.

The bill also sets four year minimums for habitual criminals convicted of gun crimes.

River Hills Republican Senator Alberta Darling issued a statement saying she believes this will help prosecutors without infringing on constitutional rights.

Democratic State Representative Evan Goyke of Milwaukee recently told CBS 58 News that state lawmakers have done "less than nothing" when it comes to gun violence legislation in the past year.


"That's not to say bills haven't been introduced," said Goyke, "they have. But they haven't received public discourse and that's frustrating."

In 2016, 125 people died from gun violence in Milwaukee.

60 have died so far this year.

Milwaukee's Police Department seizes the same amount of firearms as New York City which has 15 times our population.

"I think great progress was made block by block," Goyke says reflecting on Sherman Park since the fires and looting. "Neighbors meeting neighbors, the faith community, the police department, members of the community coming to the park to support youth. That's been great. But at a higher level, the 30 thousand foot view, nothing's changed. The system is the same. The economy in the area is the same. The infrastructure is the same, so the frustrations remain."

Still Goyke does not anticipate a return t the wanton violence that shocked the neighborhood.

"I don't think there will be large scale unrest like a year ago. But, we shouldn't pretend that we've solved any of these root causes or changed the lives of thousands of people like we need to."

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