Barrett Has Been Outspoken On Gun Issues

Not all pols are scared of the NRA. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett a few, sad weeks ago:

National and state political leaders need to step forward and honor the victims who died in Sunday's shootings at a Brookfield spa by closing the loophole that allows individuals to purchase guns over the Internet without background checks, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said Wednesday.

He offered prayers and condolences to the families of the three women killed and the four others injured in a shooting Sunday at the Azana Salon & Spa.

"Unfortunately, we've seen this before," he said. "And we know this will happen again" without a change in the laws, he said.

After the Sikh Temple shooting in Oak Creek in August:

We must act now to prevent gun violence

Ensuring background checks on all gun sales would close one of the major loopholes in our current gun laws and make it harder for criminals and those with mental illness to gain access to guns.

We should make it a felony to purchase guns for those who can't legally buy guns themselves. We need stricter penalties for those who refuse to abide by the provisions of the concealed-carry law. We should deny a firearm permit for habitual offenders who have three misdemeanors in a five-year period. We should strengthen criminal penalties for crimes committed with guns.

We should reinstate the national ban on assault weapons and have a serious review of Internet sales of large amounts of ammunition.

Twenty months earlier:

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett on Monday called for doing more complete background checks on firearm buyers and instituting background checks on all sales of guns, whether they are new or used.

Joined by nearly two dozen people affected by gun violence, Barrett said the proposals - included in a bill recently introduced by U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) - would help keep guns from those already prohibited by law from having them