Scott Walker signs two pro-gun bills

Scott Walker expanded gun rights in Wisconsin on Wednesday by signing into law two bills that, respectively, get rid of the state’s 48-hour waiting period and let retired or off-duty law enforcement officials carry concealed firearms into public schools.

Walker’s move was long in the making — Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke announced on June 11 that the Wisconsin governor would sign the 48-hour waiting period bill into law.


But it also comes a week after a gunman killed nine people at an historic African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina, setting off a national debate over race and gun control.

“This bill signing has been long planned with law enforcement,” Walker Press Secretary Laurel Patrick wrote in an email.

Walker, who is expected to jump into the 2016 presidential race in the next few weeks, often touts his efforts to roll back gun laws in the state. He also has an A-plus rating from the National Rifle Association.

During an April 10 speech at the NRA’s annual meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, the Wisconsin governor bashed President Barack Obama on gun control.

“Sometimes I think that the current occupant in the White House forgets that when the president is sworn in he takes an oath to ‘preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States,’” Walker said. “Well Mr. President, the Second Amendment is part of the constitution. You don’t get to pick and choose which part of the constitution you support. Preserving, protecting and defending it is not optional. It’s mandatory.”