Your Representatives in the News

State Assembly Representative Garey Bies

Bies and representative Melissa Sargent, a Democrat from Madison, wrote a column for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about their bill called The Social Media Protection Act.

The bill would make it illegal for employers to require employees, job applicants, students, potential students, tenants or potential tenants to give up their passwords to social media profiles. Public posts on social media sites would remain public, and companies could still monitor and restrict employees’ use of company-owned computers or public Facebook and Twitter pages.

“This bill protects an individual’s privacy while still giving employers the flexibility they need to run their businesses,” Bies and Sargent wrote in the column. “It also gives employers and universities the clarity they need when deciding on a cohesive social media policy. They will now know explicitly what they are allowed to do and what they are not allowed to do under the law.”

Source:  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

State Senator Frank Lasee

Lasee is backing a bill that would make it easier to purchase pepper spray in Wisconsin. Current rules restrict sales of camouflaged pepper spray containers and large canisters used for warding off bears.

The bill would keep the requirement that pepper spray be used as self-defense and not against police officers.

Source:  Wisconsin Public Radio

Governor Scott Walker

Walker voiced support for a bill being drafted by Senator Alberta Darling, a Republican from River Hills, that would require a three-year prison term for illegal firearm possession. The measure is also backed by Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and the city’s chief of police.

“I’m more than willing to talk with law enforcement here or anywhere else about creating mandatory minimum sentences for people who illegally possess a firearm,” Walker said in the article. “I’m all for that.”

Source:  Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism

U.S. Representative Reid Ribble

Ribble spoke out against the wage increase fast food workers are asking for as they continue protesting in cities around the country. He said a wage increase from $7 an hour to $15 would devastate the poor.

“There’s an elasticity of price in the market place,” Ribble said. “You’d see a rapid increase in goods and services and the people impacted the most are the poorest.”

Source:  Gannett Wisconsin Media

Senator Ron Johnson

Johnson said he supports President Barack Obama’s plans of a military attack on Syria in response to the government’s use of chemical weapons against citizens. As of press time, Obama plans to seek congressional approval before launching the strike.

Source:  WSAU radio

President Barack Obama

Obama is expected to meet with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights activists in Moscow.

Russia recently passed a law targeting “homosexual propaganda,” or any media saying non-heterosexual relationships are normal or attractive, and the Obama administration has voiced concern over the new law.

Source:  The Associated Press