Wisconsin should also pass the SAFE Act, which would require those subject to domestic violence restraining orders to immediately surrender their firearms. The bill, passed by the state Assembly, has received bipartisan support and is being considered in the Senate.

We all remember the tragedy near Milwaukee, when Zina Houghton’s estranged husband shot and killed Houghton and two of her co-workers. Legally barred from gun possession due to previous domestic violence and threats, the shooter evaded a check by seeking out a private seller online.

The SAFE Act will also protect law enforcement officers who are greatly at-risk in domestic violence situations when the perpetrator has a gun.

Wisconsin saw more than a 19 percent increase in murders from 2011 to 2012, with firearms used in 67 percent of those murders.

It is also alarming that law enforcement officers are increasingly the targets of gun violence. In 2012 and 2013, ambushes were the leading cause of officer firearm fatalities nationwide.

We must do more to prevent domestic abusers from acquiring and using firearms. We must do more to ensure firearms aren’t in the wrong hands — period.

That’s why I urge our state legislators to build on the system that already works, protects Second Amendment rights and keeps guns out of dangerous hands.

Mahoney is sheriff of Dane County.