BELLEVUE, WA – The brutal attack on Milwaukee, WI Mayor Tom Barrett Saturday night near the Wisconsin State Fairgrounds shows the need for a state concealed carry statute, which the mayor opposed, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today.

Barrett was beaten by a 20-year-old man wielding a metal pipe when the mayor intervened in what was described as some type of domestic dispute. The suspect, who was arrested Sunday, was in a confrontation with an older woman, apparently the mother of his ex-girlfriend.

“We applaud Mayor Barrett’s heroism, and hope for his speedy recovery,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “However, this incident clearly demonstrates how swiftly a violent and possibly deadly attack can occur and we encourage state lawmakers to take a lesson from what happened. No Wisconsin citizen should face the same kind of brutality for doing the right thing.”

Mayor Barrett did not have a security detail, as he was attending the fair with members of his family. Gottlieb said lack of a security officer is irrelevant.

“Average citizens don’t travel with a security detail,” he observed. “In a similar situation, any other Wisconsin citizen is on his or her own. A metal pipe can be a deadly weapon, and we are glad Mayor Barrett, with whom we vigorously disagree on the subject of concealed carry, was not injured more seriously.

“Many Wisconsin residents,” Gottlieb added, “have strongly supported a sensible concealed carry bill. Such a law would provide a self-protection option for private citizens, including grandmothers who do not have the good fortune to have a mayor come to their assistance.

“The solution to this situation is not to make sure Mayor Barrett always has the luxury of a security detail,” Gottlieb concluded, “but to provide every Wisconsin citizen with the tools for personal protection.”