Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers is calling lawmakers to Madison to tackle gun violence, but his plan relies on placing more limitations on guns — drawing an immediate rejection by Republicans who control legislation in the state Capitol.

Evers on Monday announced he was convening a special legislative session, which allows the governor to force lawmakers to consider legislation on a topic of the governor's choice but he can't require them to act.

The Democratic governor wants lawmakers to take up two bills that have, so far, been ignored by Republicans but have the support of the majority of Wisconsinites.

To force the issue, Evers said he would call a special legislative session as many times as it takes to get Republicans on board.

"How many times can you go against 80% of the people of the state of Wisconsin ... essentially telling them to go to hell and expect to be re-elected?" Evers said Monday. "It doesn’t make sense to me.”

But Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said the plan has no future.

"Liberals across the country are upping their rhetoric in support of taking guns from law-abiding citizens," Fitzgerald said in a statement. "The Senate will not be part of a drawn-out strategy to infringe on constitutional rights.”

Vos said the proposals infringe on Second Amendment rights.

“A special session call will not change where my Assembly Republican colleagues and I stand on protecting the 2nd Amendment rights of Wisconsin citizens," Vos said. "As I have repeatedly said, we will not entertain proposals that infringe on our constitutional rights."

One measure would establish a new so-called red flag law, which would allow judges to take guns away from people who are deemed to be a danger. Another would require a background check on almost every sale of a firearm.

Fitzgerald and Vos said the measures "could just be the first attack on the Second Amendment" after Evers said last month he would consider mandatory buybacks of assault rifles but later was cool to the idea.

"Today’s call is another indication that Governor Evers stands ready to confiscate guns in our state," Vos said.

Evers said the Republicans' majority in the state Legislature could be at risk if the measures aren't passed.

"This is what the majority of people want. Each and every day that elected officials choose not to take gun violence seriously, that's a choice that has significant consequences," Evers said. "Each and every day Republican leadership chooses weakness over common sense, that's a choice that has consequences."

Fitzgerald said this summer he thought Wisconsin laws already covered the kind of protections typically created by a red flag law, which allows family members and law enforcement to petition a judge to order firearms be surrendered by anyone deemed a threat to themselves or others.

He also said he doesn't support expanding background checks because of Republican opposition to such a move, which is rooted in a fear that the policy would create a registry of guns.

The last time a governor called lawmakers in was also on gun violence, when former Republican Gov. Scott Walker asked lawmakers in 2018 to take up a $100 million package aimed at improving safety at schools just after a student opened fire at a high school in Parkland, Florida.

But there's nothing requiring lawmakers to pass, or even discuss the issue. Republican leaders could meet and immediately adjourn over the objection of Democrats and without taking up legislation sought by Evers.

The vast majority of people — about 80% — in Wisconsin agree with expanding background checks and supporting a red-flag law, according to September polling by Marquette University Law School.

Debra Gillespie of Milwaukee, who founded Mothers Against Gun Violence about 15 years ago after her son was killed, said Monday the legislation proposed by Evers was "life-saving."

"This day has been a long day coming," she said. "What I went through — there's moms waking up all over Wisconsin who thought that they had a nightmare, but when they wake up they realize that it wasn't a nightmare — that they lost a child to gun violence."

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Democratic legislative leaders praised Evers' decision, including Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling of La Crosse who herself has first-hand experience with gun violence. In 1992, her parents were killed in a massacre at a fast-food restaurant the family owned.

"Too many men, women, and children have already died as a result of gun violence," Shilling said. "Families should feel safe from the threat of deadly weapons and dangerous individuals. Action is needed to prevent more tragedies from happening.”

In the executive order calling the special session to begin Nov. 7, Evers called gun violence a "public health crisis" and noted access to firearms triples a person's risk of dying by suicide.

Seventy-one percent of firearm-related deaths between 2013 and 2017 were suicides, the order said.

Vos earlier this year called on a group of Assembly lawmakers to tackle the issue of suicide, which resulted in a package that would spend more than $1 million on measures that would provide quicker access to counseling for students, help struggling farmers pay their bills and require state officials to put more of a focus on preventing suicide statewide.

The measures also would limit access to guns for anyone struggling with suicidal thoughts.

One proposed bill would require the Health Services Department to provide grants to municipalities to train owners and staff at firearm retailers and ranges to avoid selling or renting firearms to anyone who may be considering suicide.

A similar effort earlier this year in Virginia by Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam ended abruptly and without new laws — or even requiring Republican lawmakers' votes on the issue, as is likely to be the case in Wisconsin.

But a spokesman for anti-gun violence group Everytown for Gun Safety suggested Monday groups like Everytown are hoping the issue will pop up in upcoming elections as it did in Virginia.

Molly Beck contributed to this report from Madison. Alison Dirr reported this story from Milwaukee.

Contact Molly Beck and Alison Dirr at molly.beck@jrn.com and adirr@jrn.com. Follow both on Twitter at @MollyBeck and @AlisonDirr.