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News

Wisconsin spa shooting brings call for new law on guns

by Dinesh Ramde and Scott Bauer, Associated Press | October 23, 2012 at 9:46 AM
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Police and swat team members respond to a call of a shooting at the Azana Spa in Brookfield, Wis. Sunday,Oct. 21, 2012. Multiple people were wounded when someone opened fire at the spa near the Brookfield Square Mall. Deputies are still looking for the gunman. (AP Photo/Tom Lynn)

Police and swat team members respond to a call of a shooting at the Azana Spa in Brookfield, Wis. Sunday,Oct. 21, 2012. Multiple people were wounded when someone opened fire at the spa near the Brookfield Square Mall. Deputies are still looking for the gunman. (AP Photo/Tom Lynn)

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MILWAUKEE (AP) — Two Wisconsin lawmakers are pushing legislation to tighten the enforcement of gun rules in domestic violence cases, prompted by a fatal shooting rampage at a suburban Milwaukee spa.

Radcliffe Haughton, 45, bought a handgun just two days after his beleaguered wife obtained a restraining order against him. He used that weapon to kill her and two other women Sunday at the spa where she worked, before fatally shooting himself.

Sen. Lena Taylor said the shooting highlights the need for better enforcement of laws that require restraining order recipients to surrender their weapons.

“Across Wisconsin there are inconsistent standards, or sometimes none at all, for the collection of weapons owned by domestic abusers,” the Milwaukee Democrat said Monday as she and Rep. Penny Bernard Schaber pushed for the bill.

Radcliffe Haughton’s wife, Zina, secured the four-year restraining order against him on Thursday, at which point he was ordered to hand over all of his firearms to a county sheriff. It’s unclear whether he turned in any weapons.

Around 11 a.m. Sunday, Radcliffe Haughton opened fire at the Azana Day Spa in Brookfield.

He had bought the .40-caliber semiautomatic handgun he used in the attack from a private owner on Saturday, according to police in Brown Deer, the Milwaukee suburb where Haughton lived. The seller did nothing illegal; private individuals are not required to conduct background checks or enforce a 48-hour waiting period as licensed gun dealers are under state law.

Three of the victims remained hospitalized late Monday.

Taylor’s legislation calls for individuals who are subject to a restraining order to be forced to surrender their firearms within 48 hours or face arrest. The bill failed in 2010 largely due to opposition from the National Rifle Association and other gun-rights groups.

Tony Gibart, policy coordinator for the Wisconsin Coalition against Domestic Violence, supports Taylor’s bill but admits it may not have done anything to stop Haughton.

“We don’t know what would have prevented this situation,” he said.

Jeff Nass, president of Wisconsin Force, an NRA-chartered state association, said the proposed law would be ineffective above and beyond the Haughton attack.

“It’s just one of those things that make some people feel better,” Nass said of the proposed law. “It’s just like a restraining order. We know how effective those are. The tragedy is it’s hard to understand how people think and what deranged people do.”

Court records show that Haughton had terrorized his wife for years, including threatening to throw acid on her face, dousing her car with tomato juice and slashing her vehicle’s tires.

The former car salesman was charged with disorderly conduct last year after police responding to a 911 call saw him point what appeared to be a gun at his wife from a window at their home. Officers took cover and a 90-minute standoff ensued. It ended peacefully.

But police said Monday they were never able to confirm a gun was involved because Zina Haughton wouldn’t allow them into their home. The charge against Radcliffe Haughton was later dropped when a police officer failed to appear in court.

Police said the officer asked the prosecutor to reschedule but the prosecutor refused. A call to the prosecutor Monday evening seeking comment rang unanswered.

According to court records, Zina Haughton had told police her husband didn’t own any guns. But she was concerned enough about her safety that she got a police escort when she went to the house earlier this month to pick up a few items.

When she drove to work after picking up the items, her husband was waiting in a car outside the spa. He leaned out of the vehicle and, in front of her and two co-workers, slashed her vehicle’s tires, according to court documents. He was later arrested.

In her request for a restraining order, filed in that case on Oct. 8, Zina Haughton wrote that her husband accused her of cheating on him and had threatened to kill her if she ever left him. He also at various times had threatened to throw acid on her face and burn her and her family with gas, she claimed.

“His threats terrorize my every waking moment,” Zina Haughton wrote.

___

Associated Press writer Gretchen Ehlke in Milwaukee, and researchers Lynn Dombek and Rhonda Shafner in New York contributed to this report.

___

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

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Filed in: News | Related Topics: Gun Violence, Murder, Radcliffe Franklin Haughton, Spa, Spa Shooting, Wisconsin
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