After a great deal of protest, Senate Bill 162, introduced by State Senators Fred Risser (D-26), Tim Carpenter (D-3), and Julie Lassa (D-24), is being rewritten from the original, misguided form. The original language would have made animal abuse a form of domestic abuse. Under Wisconsin law, a person charged with domestic abuse loses the ability to purchase or possess firearms.
The animal “rights” extremist organizations like Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) have a stated goal of conveying rights and protections to animals that have been traditionally and logically reserved for humans. This bill was a dramatic step in that direction. Hunting dog trainers, dairymen, and run-of-the-mill pet owners were all vulnerable to being unjustly ensnared by this proposed law for threatening harm or causing actual harm to an animal. This is an unacceptably subjective standard. HSUS activists contend that using shock collars, invisible fences, kennels, and various leashes is conduct that should be treated as "domestic abuse" under the prior provisions of the bill.
A revised, more common sense version of Senate Bill 162 is expected to be introduced in the very near future. Rest assured that your National Rifle Association will closely monitor the situation and protect residents of the Badger State from absurd abuses of their Second Amendment rights. We will report any and all developments as they become available.