Growing Gun Violence: Is Milwaukee Becoming Another Chicago?

Recently, I was watching a TV show called “Drugs, Inc.” It was about Chicago and how people there are starting to refer to the Windy City as “Chiraq” because the number of shootings has become so prolific and so many of them are drug related.

Indeed, the numbers are frightening. As of August 28, there were 1,510 shooting victims in Chicago in 2013, including more than 250 homicides. Last year, more than 500 people lost their lives in Chicago gun violence, which was more than two larger cities, New York and Los Angeles.

Could Milwaukee be headed down this same bloody path?

During one violent August week in Milwaukee, 23 people were hit by gunfire and seven died from their wounds. The following week, a Milwaukee tavern owner, Andy Kochanski, fatally shot a man he said tried to rob his business, Kochanski’s Concertina Beer Hall, at gunpoint. The other two suspects escaped with their lives though one has been arrested. Kochanski will not be charged because his actions were deemed by the district attorney’s office as lawfully permissible in defense of himself and others.

To be honest, I don’t think Milwaukee is becoming another Chicago with respect to the gun murder rate. However, anybody who watches the news on a regular basis can see how gun violence is occurring almost daily. 

Ironically, Chicago has the toughest gun control laws in the country and the highest gun murder rate. Concealed carry advocates can make the argument that such laws are ineffective because criminals will always get their guns regardless of what laws are on the books. No matter what one’s position is, you can’t deny that criminals have always found ways to get guns. The issue becomes whether these laws will actually stop violence since criminals will know that more average citizens will be armed. Cases like the Milwaukee tavern owner come to mind.

Of course, on the flip side, people will argue that the pure size of Chicago negates any comparisons to Milwaukee.  Still, there’s no denying that shootings are on the rise in Milwaukee.  Whether the right combination of laws and enforcement techniques can actually stem the tide remains to be seen.

About Attorney Mark Powers
Attorney Mark Powers is a partner at the criminal defense law firm of Huppertz & Powers, S.C. in Waukesha. Previously, Powers served as an Assistant District Attorney with the Waukesha County District Attorney's office and is currently serving as a municipal judge in North Prairie. He focuses in the area of criminal defense, and has handled many cases involving operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, domestic disputes, and drug offenses.

Powers attended Valparaiso University School of Law, where he received his Juris Doctorate. Prior to law school, Mark attended the University of Wisconsin, Lacrosse where he received his bachelor of science in Political Science.

For more information, please call 262.549.5979 or visit www.waukeshacriminalattorneys.com.