Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke sounds off at CPAC



MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke shared his gun rights message on a national stage Saturday, March 8th at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington D.C.

The sheriff was part of a panel where he defended the second amendment and encouraged gun ownership. It's a message not everyone agreed with.

"The second amendment is pretty clear. You don't have to be a constitutional scholar to understand it," said Clarke. "The armed citizen made this country free. The armed citizen will keep this country free."

Clarke has been a vocal supporter of the second amendment, putting out public safety announcements encouraging people to arm themselves. He echoed that sentiment at CPAC.

"When police cannot be there in real-time, when the threat is happening, somebody has to be there to stop that threat," Clarke said.

Gabe Doyle sits on the board of the Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort (WAVE) and says arming more people is not the answer.

"That's not reality and that's not what other states are supporting," said Doyle. "He's carrying forward his personal message which is turning Wisconsin into the wild west. Let's all get on our horses and our cowboy hats and go shoot it out."

The issue is one that will continue to be debated in Wisconsin -- and one Clarke says he will continue to argue in favor of.

Sheriff Clarke shared the panel Saturday with former U.S. Representative Sandy Adams and Washington Times editor Emily Miller.