Even in the wake of an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump that left two dead on Saturday, guns are still being allowed just outside the Republican National Convention this week in Milwaukee, Wisconsin — all thanks to the powerful gun lobby and its Republican allies, which have fought to make sure there’s no way for the city to ban firearms.
Wisconsin state law prohibits cities from passing any ordinances restricting guns on public property — whether handguns or AR-15s. Republican-dominated legislatures have helped proliferate such “preemption” laws nationwide, preventing cities from making their own rules about firearms in gun-friendly states — as well as limiting the ability to pass antidiscrimination laws and protect rights like paid leave and minimum wage.
This means the city of Milwaukee is prohibited from banning guns from the so-called soft security zone that surrounds the Republican National Convention (RNC), which is bringing fifty thousand people to the city this week. Within this area, the Secret Service controls a smaller “hard zone” immediately around the convention center, where credentials are required to gain access and firearms aren’t permitted. Most guns will still be allowed in areas directly outside this perimeter, even though commonplace objects like glass bottles and tennis balls are prohibited.
The arrangement remains even after the assassination attempt on Trump this weekend, noted Audrey Gibson-Cicchino, the RNC coordinator for the Secret Service, who said on Sunday that operational security plans would not be changing.
Just last month, Milwaukee alderman Robert Bauman tried to force a city amendment to ban guns in the security zone for the convention. But the…
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Auteur: Katya Schwenk
