This is important enough that it needs it own thread.  So who is going to Madison to witness the WI CCW/PPA vote?

From the NRA:  January 26, the Wisconsin State Senate voted 23-10 to override the Governor's veto of the Personal Protection Act. The bill now moves to the Assembly for an override vote that is scheduled for Tuesday, January 31. In support of the PPA, please attend Tuesday's vote at 10:00 a.m., on the 3rd floor of the West Wing at the capitol.[/size]

Anyone who can possibly make it should go and watch the process in action.  The real negotions are happening out in the hallway not on the floor of the Assembly.  The latest schedule shows the morning session starting at 11:00am.  Get there earlier if you can.  Seeing how the whole process plays out will give you a much better understand of how politics really work.  Don't expect a quick vote and for the thing to be over.  The process could get delayed, tabled, and last all day.  

I got to witness the process of the Michigan CCW law getting passed.  I got there around 9am, driving 2 hours through a blizzard, I didn't leave until around 8pm that night.  The issue was one of the first on the table but it was tabled several times because the legislators that were sitting on the fence were running back and forth trying to figure out which way they should go.  There was also time given for the anti-gun legislators to speak.  They would get up and rant about blood in the streets...ect and demand the bill be defeated.  All of this was just posturing, they knew they weren't changing any minds they were just saying it for the record and to get quotes on the newspapers.  Hours into the day one of the pro-gun legislators came out and threw a hissy fit and said the bill wasn't good enough so was going to vote against it. His single vote would have changed the outcome of the bill.  The NRA rep quickly ran over to him, pulled him to the site and started to calm him down and tried to convince him to stay on board.  Several other key people, not sure who they were, also surrounded him and put all sorts of pressure on him to do the right thing.  In the end he ended up voting for the bill.

Seeing this whole process in action was simply amazing and it is something that I will never forget especially since the outcome was getting Michigan a real CCW law.  To top of the day on my drive home I got to hear Al Gore's concession speach to George Bush.  It was a good day all the way around.  So if you can possibly make it there GO!


If you can't make please contact your State Representative reminding him or her to continue their support of the PPA by voting to override the Governor's veto on Tuesday, January 31. Representatives can be reached at (800) 362-9472.  As I described above the fence sitters had staffers keeping tallies on the number of people who called in for and against the bill.  Making your voice heard does make a difference on days like this.



Representatives John Steinbrink (D-65) and Terry Van Akkeren (D-26) have not yet committed to vote to override the Governor's veto. Please contact these two representatives and ask them to remain consistent in their support of Wisconsinites' right to protect themselves and their loved ones from violence by voting to override the Governor's veto of the PPA, as they both did in 2004.

You can reach Representative Steinbrink by phone at (888) 534-0065, or by e-mail at [email protected]. You can reach Representative Van Akkeren by phone at (888) 529-0026, or by e-mail at [email protected].

If it was friday I'd have been there. Not sure who or if anyone from the Wisconsin crew is going to be there.

Here is the The Official "waiting for the override" thread. From the Wisconsin HTF if anyone wants to keep tabs on events.