Monday, January 28, 2013
Area law enforcement officials respond to Milwaukee County Sheriff's message about gun owners fighting back and "simply calling 9-1-1 and waiting is no longer your best option."
Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke’s personal safety message, which called on Milwaukee County gun owners to “fight back” and take a certified gun safety course, started a media firestorm as Clarke appeared on CNN, MSNBC and Fox News. The inquiries came after Clarke issued the following public service announcement: I’m Sheriff David Clarke, and I want to talk to you about something personal…your safety. It’s no longer a spectator sport; I need you in the game, but are you ready? With officers laid-off and furloughed, simply calling 9-1-1 and waiting is no longer your best option. You can beg for mercy from a violent criminal, hide under the bed, or you can fight back; but are you prepared? Consider taking a certified safety course in …
Monday, January 7, 2013
State's new conceal carry law and Sandy Hook school shooting prompts increase in calls to background check hotline, newspaper reports.
When Wisconsin's conceal carry law took effect in November 2011, gun sales in the state jumped. And the trend continued throughout 2012, according to reporting by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. A Dec. 27 story reported the background check hotline for handgun purchases has handled 60 percent more calls in 2012 over 2011. At that time, the newspaper reported, "the hotline handled 132,940 calls. For all of 2011, it received 88,895 calls." Part of that number, the Journal Sentinel reported, was a spike in interest in buying guns after the Sandy Hook school shooting, when more than 2,000 additional calls went to the hotline in the week after the shooting compared to the week before. In November, the JS reported on the steady boost in gun …
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Patch users spoke often, and sometimes eloquently, in response to our poll question about gun ownership. We've compiled some of the best opinions here.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Caledonia residents Michael Yocco and Mike Paczesny, two men who went to film the NATO protests for We Are Change Milwaukee, said Chicago cops didn’t have probable cause to search Yocco’s car, and unlawfully detained them.
Caledonia residents Michael Yocco and Mike Paczesny are not anarchists and they were not flying an anarchy flag when Yocco was arrested on weapons charges by the Chicago Police Department near Wrigley Field on Saturday, they said. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that the two men were anarchists, and part of the militia when they were detained at the 19th Precinct of the Chicago Police Department during the NATO protests. Yocco and Paczesny said the officers didn’t have probable cause to search Yocco’s car, unlawfully detained them and arrested Yocco because he had ammunition in his car. But Yocco and Paczesny say they were just shooting video of the protests for an alternative media group called We Are Change Milwaukee. “We were just …
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Gun laws in the country are aiming in the opposite direction and lives are being lost as a result.
The recent shootings of Bo Morrison of West Bend, WI and Trayvon Martin of Sanford, FL have certainly sparked all kinds of outrage and are bringing about some much needed conversation. Morrison, 20, and Martin, 17 were both African American boys who were legally shot to death according to state laws. One factor many are focusing on is race. Were these shootings racially motivated? Were these hate crimes shrouded by right winged laws? Were the shooters innately racist? Most of us will never truly know the answers to these questions. The people who know the shooters, Adam Kind and George Zimmerman, may have a better idea of the men’s true intentions. But right now, all we can do is speculate. And while we cannot say it is certain that these …
Monday, January 16, 2012
The huge increase in permit applications has the state sweating bullets trying to process applications on time.
According to a story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Wisconsin Department of Justice is now at least four days behind in completing background checks and processing applications for gun permits. Handgun sales have increased to an overwhelming volume since the passing of the new conceal carry law on November 1, 2011. There is a law which states that applications are to be processed within 21 days, but the state fell behind on December 30, 2011. You can read the full story HERE.
Friday, December 30, 2011
We're reviewing our top read stories for 2011.
One of the most shocking stories this year was the murder of Jonathan Kwiatkowski, a 21-year-old man who was a junior at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. Kwiatkowski's family has been determined to bring something positive out of a devastating event by holding poker runs and blood drives. The man accused of the murder is Sean Forester-Hoare, a neighbor that lived a few houses down from Kwiatkowski. Other stories that topped our list include the Conceal Carry Law, Wirch getting his job back (again), and Curt Johnson saying he's not guilty of sexual assault. 10. Why Did Jonathan Kwiatkowski Die? 9. Wind Point Man Suspected of Killing His Neighbor 8. If The Conceal Carry Bill Becomes Law, What Does That Mean? 7. Updated 10:10 p.m.: Wirch…
Monday, December 19, 2011
Wisconsin gets armed as Conceal Carry Law takes effect.
As Wisconsin becomes a conceal carry state, officials with the Wisconsin Department of Justice are working overtime to meet state deadlines. Handgun licenses have soared by 50 percent, within weeks about 56,000 or roughly one percent of the state's population will have a conceal carry licenses, and the state's handgun hotline has been ringing off the hook, according to an article in the Journal Sentinel. As of Dec. 11, a total of 24,821 people had had permits approved by the state and only a small number - 296 people - have been denied, according to new DOJ statistics. The article highlighted one Greendale man, Jeff Szymanski, who said he got his license in about 33 days, but he didn't expect to use it. To read the full story, click here.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Patch talked to Jane Witt, chair-elect of the Democratic Party of Racine County, and then to State Sen. Van Wanggaard so he could respond.
The effort to recall State Sen. Van Wanggaard started with the Budget Repair Bill, but it was only the beginning. According to Jane Witt, chair-elect of the Democratic Party of Racine County, Wanggaard's adherence to Governor Scott Walker's agenda ignores the real needs of residents in the 21st State Senate Distict. "Senator Wanggaard is not paying attention to the needs of his district or listening to his constituents," she said. While his vote for Act 10, the Budget Repair Bill, certainly got the ball rolling, Witt said Wanggard's support for Voter ID, Conceal Carry and school choice have only strengthened the need to recall him. "How he could support legislation like school choice that hurts the children in his district I just don't …
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
But one brother had an unusual question.
Correction: The incident in which Michael Yocco was accidentally shot did not involve any other Yocco family members. Caledonia Patch apologizes for the error. Two brothers are in police custody after they threatened one another with weapons as they fought over cigarettes. And police say at 10:12 am on Tues., Nov. 22, the one brother could be the first person in Wisconsin to lose his carry conceal weapon permit. Carry conceal weapon permits just started being issued in November. According to a report by the Caledonia Police Department, Michael Yocco, 28, and his brother, Christopher Yocco, 25, of Caledonia, were arrested for disorderly conduct and first degree recklessly endangering safety at their home at 4541 Carter Drive. The brothers …
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GearHead
7:47 am on Wednesday, January 30, 2013
People uncomfortable with guns probably shouldn't own them. The rest of your straw argument is just silly. Where is your evidence of cookie-selling kids being accidentally shot? more ›