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It’s not unusual for a Democrat to introduce a gun control bill to the state Legislature. Typically, the proposals are dead on arrival in the Republican-controlled Senate and Assembly. But in a sign of how the debate on gun control might be shifting because of recent mass shootings, a new proposal has some Republican support.

State Assembly Rep. Melissa Sargent (D-Madison) has proposed a pair of gun control bills that would create temporary ways of removing firearms from people who might use them to harm themselves or others. The “Red Flag Bill” would allow family members or law enforcement to petition the courts to have firearms removed from someone’s home or possession, Sargent says.

The bill would create something similar to a restraining order, outlining protocols that could allow firearms to be removed, she says. “It’s not like someone is going to walk into your house and take your guns without some serious vetting and conversation.”

But, “if there’s sound reasoning that this person is going to be harmful to themselves or other people, there are steps that can be taken” to remove the guns, she says.

Sargent’s second bill, the “Self-Exclusion Bill,” would allow people to put themselves on a list that would block them from passing a background check. A person could choose to be blocked for one, five or 20 years. Sargent modeled this bill after others elsewhere in the country that were implemented to curb chronic gambling. Those on the list are barred from partaking in regulated gambling.

Sargent says her gun self-exclusion bill “puts some distance between you and your ability to purchase a firearm from a facility that does background checks.”

Both bills address two issues that are connected to gun violence: suicide and domestic violence.

“We pay an awful lot of attention to big situations like school shootings where a lot of people are hurt or children are involved — and we should be — but we also need to pay attention to the fact that the vast majority of people who are injured or killed by firearms are individuals. Two-thirds of gun deaths in Wisconsin are self-inflicted,” she says. “These bills would have a very strong effect on both of those situations and they also don’t interfere with Second Amendment rights.”

So far, a couple of Sargent’s Republican colleagues — Rep. Todd Novak (Dodgeville) and Rep. Bob Kulp (Stratford) — support the Red Flag Bill.

“It’s a good bill because it allows the request to come from law enforcement or a family member [and] the court has to have a hearing whether the person should get their gun back or if it should still be kept,” says Novak. The victims rights group, Family Advocates, Inc., in his district urged him to support the legislation, he says. “Nobody’s rights are violated, the victim is protected and the defendant gets his due process.”

“I see this as a tool for law enforcement or the courts to use if they need it,” he adds.

Sargent hasn’t gotten any pushback on the two bills from her colleagues yet. “It’s been a lot of support for them or silence,” she says.

State Sen. LaTonya Johnson (D-Milwaukee) will author Senate versions of the bills.

Shel Gross, director of public policy for Mental Health America of Wisconsin, supports the bills, but isn’t sure how effective the self-exclusion bill would be. “It’s difficult to evaluate because [self-exclusion] hasn’t been used for this purpose before,” he says. “I don’t think it would hurt, but it’s hard to know if it would help.”

Gross is a big fan of the Red Flag bill. “It’s appealing for a couple of reasons: A number of states have done it and we know that removing access to firearms is one of the strongest, evidence-based things you can do to prevent suicide,” he says. “The more time it takes for someone who is suicidal to get a firearm, the more likely they are to live.”

It might also reduce homicides, he adds, like the Parkland, Florida school shooting, where 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz allegedly killed 17 people. “Everybody knew and suspected [the shooter] was dangerous — this [bill] could have been a tool in that case.”

Students from Parkland have since become gun control activists, helping to shift debate on the issue.

Isthmus reached out to a handful of Wisconsin gun rights groups to comment on the bills, as well as the National Rifle Association, but none responded.

Sargent introduced similar legislation last session, but neither bill received a hearing or a floor vote. The earliest the proposals could be voted again on is next January, when the Assembly is back in session. However, Sargent hopes the issue of gun control will be a factor in November’s elections. “It’s past time for elected officials to take action,” she says. “The kids are leading on this. We need to hear them.”

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly listed Sen. LaTonya Johnson's last name as Jackson.